Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah, who bore you, for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation, for a teaching will go out from me and my justice for a light to the peoples. I will bring near my deliverance swiftly; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look at the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats, but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended. ~ Isaiah 51:1-6
There are many places in scripture where we get the image of a rock. God as a rock is strong, enduring, consistent, protective.
Today, Isaiah says that it is from rock we are hewn. It is from rock that we are dug up, It's the rock that we come from.
It's God who we come from.
I have several river stones that I've collected over the years. I've used them in ministry several times: most often in Confirmation classes. We are like those river stones - hewn from a larger rock and smoothed by the roaring river which is the Holy Spirit. It works on us, smoothing us out over time as we grow into the being we are called to be.
We come from God and we are worked on by God.
We are come from the strong, enduring, consistent, protective One who loves us fully and completely.
Whose salvation endures forever, even when everything else falls away.
I keep my river stones as a reminder of this. I like the feel of the smoothed out edges in the palm of my hand as I imagine God holding me just as closely, smoothing me out and keeping me secure.
Smooth out my rough edges, Holy One, and stay with me as I continue to grow into the person you've created me to be. Amen