Rock Tumbler

We bought a rock tumbler some years ago.  You take a handful of rough, un-lovely rocks and put them into the tumbler with some water and grit, and let them tumble.  After a week or two when you open up the tumbler, you'll find smoothed and polished stones, suitably beautiful for use in jewelry and craft projects.  The jagged edges are smoothed, the rough surfaces are polished, and the color and pattern of the substance of the rock is revealed.  The transformation is quite amazing!

Rough, jagged rocks.

The rock-tumbler process is just a concentrated version of what happens in the wilds of nature, in rushing mountain streams.  The rushing water carries fine sand and grit that continually strike against the rocks and pebbles in the stream bed.  From time to time, the force of the rushing water will move a rock, striking its neighbors with a resounding "clunk."  And after thousands of years of this sort of action, you wind up with beautifully smooth rocks and pebbles that are just a delight to touch!

Smooth stones after stream tumbling.

All this tumbling reminds me of what its like living in Christian community.  We are all stones and pebbles of varying shapes and sizes.  Like grit and sand, the small irritations that are part of life  continually bombard us.  Learning to respond gracefully to those irritations smooths our rough places.  But its when we knock into each other that the more serious reshaping takes place - when a jagged corner here or a sharp edge there get knocked off.  


Persevering in difficult relationships is a great source of growth!  I know because recently I've been experiencing it first hand.  By stepping back and removing ourselves from relationships that seem to be less than fulfilling, we cheat not only ourselves, but also the other person of the opportunity for growth and refining - of the chance to spin a few rounds in the rock tumbler together.  If our difficulties and conflicts are lubricated by the water of the Holy Spirit, everyone comes out smoother.  And with the increasing smoothness and polish, our true nature  as children of God becomes more and more apparent and visible.

Before & After

If there is a Christ-follower you have taken to avoiding because of conflict or difficulties between you, perhaps you might reconsider and re-engage with them.  The "rock tumbler" is by no means an instant process, but in the long run, you both are likely to be better for making the effort!


Proverbs says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)  But I tell you this, "As one stone strikes against another, so one person smooths and polishes another."  Get out there and get tumbling!