The desert monks knew something about rocks. They lived among them. Prayed beside them. If they were anything like me, they tripped over them. And they knew how hard stone is. But they also knew something else.
That, given enough time, water changes everything.
Abba Poemen once said that water is soft and stone is hard, yet a steady drip of water can wear away the rock.
That was not just a lesson on nature, but also the nature of reading and reflecting on the Word of God. Our hearts can be pretty stubborn and resistant to the Spirit's nudge. Even more, we carry wounds, assumptions, fears, and habits that just seem to be who we are. And if we do want a change of heart, we want God to change us in a flash.
But, most of the time, God chooses a drip.
Think of this drip as a verse you read in the morning. Maybe you pray a psalm before bed. You might think listening to that gospel story for the hundredth time doesn't mean anything because nothing feels dramatically different. You don't see anything moving, and the rock, you, seems unchanged.
Thankfully, the Spirit is patient.
Let me encourage you to approach the Bible not as information to be mastered. Scripture is a place of encounter. Every time you return to its words and stories, the living God is shaping you. A little bit at a time, the Spirit fashions a little more compassion, a little more humility, and a little more courage. God's transformation is often so gradual that we only recognize it when we learn to look back and realize we no longer react the way we once did.
Breakthroughs are great, but the desert fathers teach us to trust the drip.
Stay with the Bible. Return to the stories. Sit with the words of Jesus.
Water is soft. Stone is hard. Yet one changes the other.
Stay blessed...john
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