Spiritual Practice - Where is Your Rock?

It is a good thing to have all of our props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet and what is sand (Madeleine L’Engle)

I found this quote a couple of days ago shortly after pondering Margaret Silf’s question “Where is your rock?” Then in Marty Folsom’s The Psalms: A Sanctuary for the Soul, I was once again reminded to ground myself on the rock of God’s presence, Christ’s companionship and the Spirit’s guidance. “Stand on the rock and envision a different kind of day. Take the hand of Jesus s he invites you to walk with confidence through what lies ahead saying “I got you.”

My whole concept of rocks and shifting sand seems to have changed dramatically over the last few years. What I once thought was solid ground now seems to be shifting sand and vise versa.

These different quotes on “the Rock” inspired me to think about how I know that God is real and why I trust my Creator in the midst of a wounded and suffering world. In the midst of Tom’s decline I feel I have found a new certainty - that God will never leave nor forsake either of us no matter what we may experience.

As I thought about this I was reminded of the exercises I do each morning for my foot. One of their goals is to strengthen my balance. I stand on one foot with the other raised for 30 seconds and then repeat it with the other foot. Last week my physical therapist added another exercise. Now I stand on a 3” thick foam mat and try to balance. It is much harder even though there is still solid ground under my foot. Sometimes I feel that faith is like that. Just when we think we have achieved a place of balance the solid ground beneath shifts and suddenly seems more like sand.

As I contemplated these various images this morning I realized that my rock looks more like trust than like belief or any concrete spiritual practice. It is more about mystery than knowledge, and rests on the assurance of Jesus’ companionship. To me this implies constant change, which seems more like shifting sand than a rock.

However I do believe that this is the rock on which we stand. It’s a place where we can indeed envision a different world and face the constant changes that keep flying towards us with confidence.

Where is your rock? Take some time to contemplate that question today.

Here are some of the thoughts that come to me: