Mountain Boys

December started yesterday and with it came the first snow. It is a time for the ground to renew itself and for us to shovel the concrete. Like stones in the Middle East, concrete surrounds our lives. There is so much that we hardly notice it. However, the snow on the sidewalk, driveway and roads reminds of us how much of the earth we have covered with concrete. Jesus used a lot of stone imagery in the Gospel. Jesus living today might use concrete. “I am the concrete block on which the whole building rests.” Stone and concrete indicate strength and being strong. “You are my rock.” Whereas we humans are like the earth, fragile and soft. In our lives we need both, the rock and the ground to survive and grow. We need to be solid as a rock and yet as movable as the earth.

Tonight I was getting photographs ready for a slide show of our Graf Family reunion in Colorado. There were some pictures of the mountains, testaments of stone, but most were of family members, testaments of the earth. The mountains of stone are massive and remind us of the majesty of God. The photos of the Graf children are small and remind us of the gentleness of God. Mountains and children are the two sides of our life. We seek to be strong and stand tall like a mountain but unless we are like a child we cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Tomorrow I will send the photos out to the family, maybe insulate another window, do some grocery shopping, write a letter about moving the military out of the local Christian university, cook dinner, work around the garden inside and out. It will be just another day of doing great things, like mountains while doing small things like being a child. The mountains of life are full of awe if we can become like children to see them.

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