Unloading the Stones

I’ve always had a thing for stones. They bring to mind one of my favorite places on earth—this sliver of a beach nestled along the north shore of Long Island. Oh, the countless evenings I spent on that stony beach, watching the sun go down while my children splashed out on the sandbar. There I sat, thinking and pondering, as I’d scoop up the stones in my hand and admire their uniqueness and their story. Soft and smooth. Hard and impermeable. Dark and light. Speckled and spotted.

Each stone was a poignant reminder of life. Because we, too, can be soft and smooth while also being hard and impermeable. We may long to reflect the light of Christ, but we’ve been dulled by the downbeat of storms. I confess my heart was hardened, even after a decade of knowing Jesus. I was lugging around guilt, shame, and anger. But once I got honest with God and gave Him access to my heart, He moved in and emptied out all the stony parts formed by wounds.

God turned my heart of stone to flesh. He made my heart His dwelling place as He wrote a new story upon the stones of my life. And He wants to do that in you.

This is an excerpt from our 365-day A Moment to Breathe Devotional Journal.