It's like walking with a rock in your shoe.

     That's my analogy for the life for today.  Sometimes the rock is small and sharp but feels so big.  While at other times the rock is small and flat and doesn't even make a blip on your radar.  I've had a lot of rocks in my shoes over the years.  Some I knew about instantly while others went unnoticed for the day.  One of the questions I ask my self is: "Am I a rock in someone else's shoe and which kind is it?"  Do I bring pain or pleasure to others.  More than I have liked it I have brought pain in the form of a small sharp rock.  It may have been something I have said, something I have done or because I did neither.  Sometimes the good rock that lands in my shoe is meant to let me know that I am doing good.  Have you ever felt that way?  We need to go WAY back and see the "plan" that God put in place before the foundation of the world.
     Who created rocks?  Rhetorical question.  God created rocks both big and small.  The rocks that get put in our shoes are small rocks.  Over the eons the stones in our world have been in the process of erosion.  They have either been resistant to the forces of nature or have allowed those same forces to shape them in our lives.  And so we ask ourselves if we really want to remove the small sharp rock and to not learn from it's presence in our life.  We also sit back and take things for granted when the small flat stone lies there not disturbing us in the least.  These rocks created by God and brought into our lives have great messages if we will listen to what God is saying to us.  For instance, some of the rocks represent people in our lives.  The flat and smooth small rocks represent those with whom we have relationship with in a positive way.  The small sharp rocks represent those people who are there until we learn the lesson God wants us to learn. 
     I once watched a crew of Mexican workers in Mexico building a retaining wall about a half mile long and at least 20 feet high.  There were different levels of workers from those who carried the stones to those who placed them.  In the wall there were seams that were barely discernible because of the fine craftsmanship of the ones who were chipping and setting the final resting place for that stone whether it was sharp or smooth.  The wall was a masterpiece meant to last a lifetime.  The workers were proud of their accomplishments as they should have been.  We take rocks and keep them inside of ourselves to construct either pathways (flat and smooth) or walls (sharp).  The difference in people's lives is the process.  You can tell those who have journeyed and the flat smooth stones lead to various areas of their lives.  With people who have used the sharp rocks there is no place to journey.  You have reached the wall.
     We tend to believe that it is us who remove the rock from our shoes.  Not true.  It's God who removes the rock or leaves the rock in place according to His will and not ours.  Some people find themselves in the daily life of living in a rock slide.  Others walk the paths in peace.  I choose the latter but don't let it happen often enough.  Parts of my life are in landslide mode.  When I cannot stand it any longer, I turn to God and ask him to polish the stones and make paths instead.  God is the force of nature that we need to not wall off.  He wants us to grow and to be viable people who love and care for each other.  Caring by not putting small sharp stones in their shoes.