Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone.

I have a very dear friend who spends quite a bit of time in Scotland, the country of her birth and formative years, and the country where her husband and eldest daughter now reside. She’s there right now and she sends me photos and videos every few days. 

Usually I call her names when she does this because she’s there exploring castles and listening to men in kilts playing bagpipes, while I’m here, dealing with all that I deal with here on a daily basis. 

One of the sets of photos she sent me this trip was a series of heart shaped rocks. Just everywhere in the water and on the shore. These amazing heart shaped rocks just lying there amidst the other rocks. And I exclaimed “All the ♥️ shaped rocks!!” And her response to me was: “Yes. Love. Everywhere. Carved in Stone.”

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone. 

That image and that phrase just resonated with me so much. Like God leaving little love notes for us. 

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone. 

If you know me very well, you know I love to camp. Not because I love mosquitoes. Or being sweaty. Or taking showers in public bathrooms. Or being constantly covered in the smell of campfire and dirt. 

I love to camp because when I am camping, I’m outside all the time that I am awake. There’s no television and no work and limited distractions. And I just slow down and sit still. And during that extended time spent in nature, I am so attuned to God’s amazing creation. Like at no other time. I literally see God everywhere in nature. 

I see him in the wind that moves the leaves on the trees, in the sun on my skin, in the songs of the birds, in the sound of the water lapping onto the shore, in the sun as it sets at the end of the day, in the laughter and conversation of my children. 

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone. 

The truth is, it’s not that God just shows up when I’m camping. He’s with me all the time. I just don’t often slow down enough to see or hear him the way I do when I’m as still as I am when camping. 

So he waits patiently. And he sends me messages along the way. Through circumstances. Through a devotion or a Bible story that I’ve read my whole life but suddenly now takes on new meaning. Through the words or observations of a trusted friend. 

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone. 

Sometimes the stones are a little harder to find. Like in the form of bread crumbs mixed amongst the dirt. Sometimes they are whole slices of bread formed into tall mounds like so many ebeneezers. 

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone. 

I think my goal should be to look for those heart shaped rocks. On even the worst of days. On the days when the circumstances make God’s presence hard to see and even harder to feel. To concentrate on the presence of God in worry as much as I do at rest. To see the bread crumbs. Or to acknowledge the ebeneezers. And to know he is here. In each and every moment. And that he shows me that daily. If I will I just pay attention. 

Love. Everywhere. Carved in stone.