For the Love of a Rock Tumbler
I’ve been thinking that I need a splashy new masthead here. I’m picturing something a little retro (aqua blue is in my head) with sparkle symbols around the words: RARE ROCKS – Felicity’s Blog for Intentional Spiritual Formation (Guaranteed Gem Quality!). Now all I need is a graphic/web designer who works pro bono for a good cause – mine! : )
As I’m dreaming up this new blog layout, I imagined two images flanking the title: on one side a rough-edged rock and on the other a shiny polished stone. In aqua? Something like the round guy in the middle of this:
Sweet, right? I know. Don’t you want to just reach out and roll those around in your hands. So soothing and meditative. Well, after I looked at polished stones on Flikr for awhile (thanks scorpocat!), I remembered how much I used to want a rock tumbler for Christmas! I used to look at them every year in Grandma’s JCPenny Wish Book and think, that would be AWESOME!
Alas, it was never meant to be, but, clearly, something about it stuck with me. What is it about rocks!?
So, of course, I did a little research on rock tumblers last night and, oh the joy, it was everything I had hoped. Rock tumbling is just another perfect analogy for spiritual formation. You want to know what you need to turn regular rocks into polished beauties?
First you need the right kind of rock, good material. Then you need grit. That’s right, grit. Add water and tumble all of that together for awhile. Like, a long time, weeks even. Imagine this is you and the grit of everyday life rolling around in the water of God’s Word:
Not the most comfortable sight or sound, huh? Seems about right for spiritual formation - it seems to take forever and it isn’t glamorous at all. Watching that video, it looks a little boring even.
After the rough grit round you’ll have another round with a finer grit. Again – weeks. After each round the stones have to be washed thoroughly to remove any leftover grit. In the final polishing round even a small spec of grit could end up leaving all kinds of scratches on your stones.
So rock tumbling is NOT for the faint of heart, or the impatient, which probably explains why I never got one! But, for the brave soul willing to move through each step with vigilance and care, rock tumbling produces some beautiful RARE ROCKS!
I was wishing we had gotten you a rock tumbler some Christmas. Then I watched the video. Great analogy, though! Preach it.
Oh, I love this. And yes, your splashy new header idea is fabulous.
I have a friend who’s done some blog design for a few other friends of mine. I don’t know what she charges, if anything, but I could ask her if you like. Let me know.
Awesome analogy! I think I’ve sometimes jumped out of the rock tumbler! Now I see why we need to stay in there and let the process have its way!
I’m sorry. I’m still stuck on the fact that you wanted a rock tumbler for Christmas…
Well, not THIS Christmas. I mean, theoretically.
This is so amazing. Guess who had a rock tumbler? My super cool older brother that’s who! And I was dying for one of my own!
What a funny hobby that fell out of fashion. Thank you for reminding me about that.