The Stone
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(Photo by Remo Savisaar) |
“Once there was a woman who thought her life was over. She was ill and very tired. She had failed at everything. As she walked beside the waves, she said to God, ‘All my sacrifices have come to nothing. I am defeated at every turn. What am I going to do?’
As she said this she looked down at the waves licking the beach and saw many broken pieces of china that had come from a shipwreck. Among them was this stone. It was not from the shipwreck. It was something the sea had carved. She picked it up and wondered at it, for it was a perfect palette shape, with a thumb hole and dots to represent dabs of paint. The stone was like a miracle to her, for she was a painter.
Then she understood. If God could patiently create this stone over thousands of years, seeing ahead to the woman who would one day walk on the beach with discouragement in her soul, he could do anything. If he could send her a message like this, he could bring a harvest from barren soil. He could bring dead things to life, and even a life that seemed a failure might become fruitful.”
“So, he was speaking to her.”
“Yes.”
~Michael O'Brien (from the novel A Cry of Stone)
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