Matthew 7:7-9 – Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (NIV)

"Our prayer group will not meet this week, but come over to my house at the same time. I have a project I'd like you to help me with," said my friend.

When I arrived, she was in the backyard with an axe and a huge pile of rocks. "We picked up these rocks last summer on a trip. My daughter is doing a school project on rocks. We are to split or crack the rocks for her," she said, handing me an axe.

I soon understood why she needed help. The stones did not crack easily. When we finally managed to split one, we were surprised at what we saw. Hidden in that aged stone were tiny crystals and colourful gems. They were small, but to us, treasures beyond measure.

"We picked these rocks up," she said, "to make a rock garden. We never had any idea they looked like this on the inside."

I thought of times in my life when I thought that all I'd been given was a rock. Some gifts my parents had given me seemed "solid as a rock", but what I wanted was the glitter of bright jewels. Many times I had prayed to God asking for things which never materialized. These disappointments lay on my heart like rocks. I could understand now that many of these gifts had hidden jewels within. I could not see them until I had thoroughly examined them and come to a mature understanding of what lay within them.

God tells us to ask, seek, and knock. Faith, patience, and endurance reveal jewels within many rocks.

Prayer: Lord, give us patience to endure until we split the rocks in our lives and find the beauty within. Amen.

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