Smoothed by the rough

Rachel found this stone today; she gave it to me saying "I thought you'd like this, it's really interesting".   She's right of course, it is fascinating, but not just as a stone; it's about its symbolism of life in the waves.

Take a look at the picture and look at the stone in detail. 

See the smooth outside? 
That smoothness comes from years of waves battering the stone and rolling out around in the force of the water.  Sounds a lot like life to me; being battered and rolled around from pillar to post by events out of our control.  I know that I don't often feel smoothed by the traumas of life, but I have to admit that my reaction to them is smoother than it used to be and perhaps more of it rolls of me, though I'm not sure about that.

Now look at the hole through the middle.
This hole has not been around as long as the stone; it is still rough round the edges.  I'm not sure what would have made this hole but it would have been dramatic.  Life can make holes in us in the same way.  We meet people who can see right through our hard externality and smooth surfaces; people who look into us and see the rough, pure inside of us.  They understand what we are deep down and allow us to be ourselves.

There's someone else who sees the inside of us where we are rough and vulnerable.  God sees us all the way through; smoothed by the rough parts of life and left pure in our roughness inside where he can heal us.

Through relationships with people who can help us show the rough inside we can come closer to God; we can trust Him with all of us.