The Rock

That rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:4

It was obvious from far back in line that my five-year-old pig-tailed girl had not had a good day. As I waited for the teacher to put her in my car, I could see that she was deflated, alone and sad. By the time we pulled out of the school parking lot, she was sobbing. “I had to sit on the rock, Mama,” she cried. The rock was a huge boulder in the school playground that was used as a place where children needing correction were sent to wait out recess. It was meant to give time to think through poor choices and hurtful actions. Sometimes, it was a place to finish forgotten homework. But to my daughter, it was the ultimate form of punishment. She didn’t mind the fact that she couldn’t play with her friends. It was the public spectacle of it all that hurt her most.

What she did to deserve such punishment is a lost memory now, but I do remember the sweetness that God brought from the event. On the way home, we began to talk about how the Bible talks about God being a rock.

“How could God be like a rock?" I asked my girl. “He’s big,” she said. “He doesn’t move. He’s always there. Sometimes, when it’s real hot, you can scrunch down behind the rock and it’s cool there. I’m safe there. I can rest there. It’s quiet. And today, I thought about my bad choice and asked God to forgive me.”

Wow, I thought. There’s a lot of truth there from the mouth of a preschooler. David often referred to the Lord as my rock of refuge (Psalm 18:2, 31:2). That is exactly was my girl was describing. Shelter, protection, dependability. Isaiah wrote, Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal (Isaiah 26:4).

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my Rock eternal; my refuge, my stronghold, my shield. May I ever cling to you.

Jill Hardin