Stones in the Path

My children have always liked to collect rocks. The rocks don't have to be special, or beautiful, they simply have to be available. We have collected stones from creeks as well as gravel from driveways. Once one of my children once found a huge rock that he had to have. Unfortunately he found it as we were climbing up a mountain in North Carolina. Stubbornly he carried that rock up to the top and back down again, and for years it lived in an aquarium in our house. Typically my car and my purse have rocks in them, along with countless shoeboxes in our house and a small basket in my office. I chose a few of these rocks to put in my box today.

After Jesus was crucified he was taken down from the cross, placed in the tomb and a huge stone was rolled in front of it.When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. As they walked in sadness a very practical thought came to them. It was the stone. The stone was clearly too large for them to move on their own. And without being able to move the stone they would have no way to get to their Lord. Even the smallest children in chapel seemed to know the next part of the story. When the women reached their destination they found that the stone had been rolled away, leaving a clear way for them to enter. No obstacles blocked their discovery that Christ had risen.

As we walk though life we may find many stones in our path. Some will be small, and some will seem to big for us to move, but the path to the risen Lord will always be cleared for us.