In geological terms a 'slump block' is the term used to describe a large boulder or piece of rock that breaks off from a larger piece and descends a slope by the force of gravity. My backyard and surrounding woodland is practically littered by many of these odd creatures. Hence the name of my road..Rockwood.
The rocks in my neck of the woods are sandstone, with the occassional band or fragments of limonite. The weathering of the limonite make for some beautiful and interesting designs. The pock-marked walls teem with ripples that resemble the beach with a ebbing tide.
My favorite place in my woods, lies about 200 yards behind my house, just past the giant boulder that is half the size of our dwelling. A rock shelter, carved by a now tiny seeping spring that runs silently down the western face and disappears into the gully eventually spilling into Hurricane Creek and a hundred feet later empties into Keys Creek and a mile further mixes with the Ohio River
When Sharla and I first moved here 17 years ago, I found the rock shelter. It is 20 feet deep at the greatest and about 80 feet wide. Nice and dry. There was a fire ring built by kids some years ago, and the rocks remained stacked perfectly and the remnants of charred wood filled the bottom.
While this place struck me as 'my kinda place', I noticed something ominous. Right in the middle of the face, jutting out over the fire ring, the rock had a crack about 3 inches wide about 3 feet up and about 20 feet across.. It looked as if it could come crashing down at any time. I guess I pressed my luck everytime I walked beneath it, but I had no idea how long it had been there. Had it been a week?, a year, a hundred years?
Fast forward 17 years.....
It all came tumbling down this winter. I never heard the thump, but i'm sure it made a great one. The whole piece came down in one great block, burying the fire ring and leaving no trace of the tell-tale soot coating the now bottom. The force of gravity that may have been building for 'who knows how long" only took a split-second to transform the image that I had for 17 years.
Rewind 17 years....
17 years ago I noticed the crack in the rock and felt the weight of that rock squarely on my shoulders. I was like that rock spirtually; broken and ready to fall. It was just a few short months later that my life was transformed as I gave it all to Christ. While that rock may have fallen and the landscape will never be the same, I too will never be the same as Christ changed me in that split-second that I believed in Him and confessed Him as Lord.
Look around, 'for old things will become new'.
1 comment:
Bro! I am blown away by your geological expertise! BUT, I'm even more blown away by you spiritual maturity. THanks for sharing this with the world. You're awesome!
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