A friend was telling me about the arduous task she faced. Her elderly parents had a serious water leak in their irrigation system, and she needed to find the cause. This entailed raking a yard full of rocks, which she found tedious. She began with a determination to hurry through it. Then as a couple of days went by, she prayed for some insight. The passages in scripture about rocks came to her. 

“Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake." 

1 Kings 19

"This may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’" Joshua 4

 ^"But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19

She slowed down. Rather than rushing through the process, she elected to notice it. The variety of colors and shapes in rocks caught her attention, and they were beautiful. Sometimes she paused to stoop down and hold one in her hand. The texture told a story of its strength and resilience. She respected them, rather than resented them. 

There were times in my life when I tried to gallop through tasks. Changing diapers, bathing toddlers, washing dishes, and serving lunch became ordeals to get through. There were the occasional times when I could be present, but it was not my modus operandi. 

My life is less encumbered with such routines these days, but I will hold on to my friend's story. It sounds like a way to keep my energy from leaking out.