St. Helen’s Daily Lenten Devotional
“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s eyes, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” 1 Peter 2:4-5
Have you ever stood on the shores of a lake, or even a small pond, and ‘skipped’ stones across its calm surface? Are you aware that Big Bay, on the shores of Georgian Bay, is the ‘stone skipping capital of Canada’, as its beach is strewn with flat pieces of shale? Did you know that there is a North American Stone Skipping Association (NASSA) and competitions and festivals focused on this activity take place around the world?
Skipping stones speaks of the outdoors and fresh air and playfulness. The size and shape of the stone used is important. Too big or round and it will simply splash. Too small a pebble and it won’t have enough momentum to go very far. A flat rock, with a sharp edge, that fits in the palm of your hand is a good choice but the spin, speed and angle of the toss is also critical. After some practice, a stone might rebound across the water three, four, five times… Each time it touches the surface concentric ripples are created. It’s ‘impact’ is felt.
As disciples of Christ we are stones of all different shapes, sizes, ages, colours and mineral content. We are chosen to be living stones, that is to inspire our spheres of influence, our world, with the faith that is in us. Each encounter, every word shared, every act, every prayer, in Jesus’ name, has the potential to create ever widening haloes which, in turn, touch other wavelets, with the hope that holy water is the result!
Now if the pond is frozen, and the ice is clear, you can still skip a stone. It doesn’t make a ripple, of course, but as it touches down it makes a wonderful ‘pinging’ sound…the music of the cosmos reverberating through the ages?