One of the many quirky things about me is my attraction to and collection of rocks of all sorts. It began before I was even three. My grandparents took me on a long road trip from Ohio to California. Whenever we made a stop I'm told I would scoop up a handful of rocks to take along in the car. When I was eleven my mom took me on a road trip to Tennessee where we visited Rock City (ahhh!). There I bought multiple dollar-priced stones from rose quartz to snowflake obsidian to "rose rock" (selenite) and others - some of which I still own today forty years later. It was that next school year that I entered the school science fair with a rock project that included my own polished and identified rocks. I was given the award of Excellence for that project and my mom bought me a large book on houseplants, which was a budding interest at that point. I will come back to the book in a later post...
Since those early childhood days, my affection for rocks has not diminished. My flower bed is partially outlined with smooth gray-blue rocks gathered during family daycations to Lake Erie. I frequently pick up rocks as I walk my dog. Earlier this summer one of our outdoor planter poles was leaning and I had recently put a stone in my van was just the right size to stabilize it. More recently my husband and I went on a road trip that included Googlemaps directing us to dead ends all over Daniel Boone National Forest. We were searching for the natural arches there. At the third and final dead end I noticed a decently sized rock near the edge of the turn around. It now sits on the corner of our front flower bed - a solid reminder of the fun we had getting lost together.
You may reasonably wonder where this talk of rocks is going. Beyond sharing some favorite childhood memories and a topic I find interesting, I find some parallels and life lessons here...
One observation for today: Most people have at least one quirky thing about themselves. Seems to me those things make life interesting and fun. I think its good to embrace the quirkiness in ourselves and others. I love that I get excited about rocks. I love going outside and finding one that fits in my hand or pocket just so, or looks good in my garden - even if its just there to stabilize a planter pole. Rocks are free for the taking (mostly) and I love that there is something so simple that makes me feel good inside. I hope for you that you have simple things that make you feel good inside too. And that if you don't have anything like that yet, that you go discover at least one. It probably won't be rocks, though it could be. Just go looking for your thing(s). Because even if we share a common interest, in the total package, there is no one like me and no one like you. No one else can be as good a me as me, and no one else can be as good a you as you. So I hope you appreciate and grow yourself to be and do and love all you can.
That's an important point, so I'll sign off here - maybe its a good time to go for a walk or just sit outside and ponder how unique you are and how much you might accomplish if you dare and don't give up...
Psalm 139:13a I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
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