full circle

many years ago steve and i sat in a restaurant celebrating our first valentine's day together. although we had only first met the summer before, i was secretly hoping for a diamond that valentine's night. instead steve gave me a pet rock graffitied with his handy work and many bible verses about love and God's plan. even though it was not the rock i was hoping for it held a very special place in my heart and became part of our story. it became our theme. we collected rocks along the coast of australia and used them as place cards for our wedding. we keep a bowl full of rocks we have collected on our journeys throughout the years. dear friends had our son's names and birthdays engraved on rocks. a rock sits on our desks at work to remind us of each other and the covenant we made before God. and the little rock that started it all sat on a small plate in the kitchen for years until it was move into the pantry. and then in the pantry it was covered with many other things that didn't officially have a home. and eventually the rock was forgotten. it was forgotten until our boys started loving rocks and wanting to paint rocks. they busied themselves collecting rocks, washing rocks and eventually painting rocks for two days. it wasn't until we saw their finished product that steve remembered the rock that he gave to me so long ago and dug it out of the closet to bring it to me once again. it is amazing how our children have once again reminded us of what is important in life.