Remember that line in "A Bug's Life" where princess Anta politely commented on the "gift" of a Rock from (I think it was) the praying mantis acting as a magician? She said "It's a... rock!" Sometimes I have looked at God's creation like that. Well, that's nice, but it's just a tree, it's grass, it's... a rock!
Recently I was at a retreat where rocks were personified and this guy talked to a rock like it could hear him. And I thought that was a little over the top until I read this verse from the book of Joshua. “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that He spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” (Joshua 24:27)
The rock heard? hmmm. It was a witness against them. Huh? Could it be that God enlivens His creation for His purposes? And while I don't worship the rock (any more than I worship any human being), maybe I should respect his creation a bit more. For those that know me well, this will be a bit of a shock, but it makes sense of integrating my life with all of God's creation.
So this weekend, I am going to a men's retreat where we will consider what the rocks will teach us. If you had told me this two years ago, I would have thought you were a bit "new age-y." But now I see that God can enliven and personify His creation and I can grow closer to the Creator when I do that too. And now I understand - the rocks can hear.
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