On a backroad

When my daughters were young I loved to write stories for them. In the sand on the beach. On a painting. At bedtime. Driving in the car. It didn’t matter where or when, creating stories just for them was pure joy.

One of the stories I wrote for them is called, The Heart Rock. A young girl with a heart of gold meets a king with a heart of stone. Through her smile and love and caring, his heart melts and in the process, his lands become bountiful, his people content and all is well in the kingdom. The moral of the story — Even a heart of stone can be warmed in loving hands.

Often, I will pass a heart rock along. I’ll hold it in my hands, warm it up and give it to someone. A friend in chemotherapy, a friend in challenging circumstances. No matter their situation, the heart rock is a reminder that we are connected — in Love.

Heart rocks are a constant presence in my life. I find them everywhere. On walks with Ellie, on the beach, on the roadside. Yesterday, as I drove back from Saskatoon, I went straight where I should have turned left and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road to turn around. It was a quiet back road so I decided to stop and let Ellie wander for a bit. There at my feet as I stepped out of the car was a beautiful heart rock.

Heart rocks make me smile which is why it was so special that my youngest daughter, Liseanne, remembered my affinity for heart rocks while at a wedding recently in a rural community.

“I have something for you, mum,” she said the other day when she dropped over for a visit. She dug in her purse and pulled out a beautiful heart rock. “I found it in the grass outside the hall where the wedding was,” she told me.

And my heart melted.

It isn’t the grand gestures that make the biggest difference. Sure, they’re important. And yes, we must do ‘the big things’ to create change in the world. But for me, it is these small moments that soften my heart, that melt my feelings into a warm gooey sticky mess of Love that permeates my being and remind me, no matter where I am, who I’m with, when we connect through Love there is nothing to fear.

My daughter gave me a heart rock she found in the grass. In the simple act of picking it up and carrying it back to me, she said — I see you. You’re important to me. I love you.

And in her gesture we become one with the One. In our oneness we become that which we are seeking. That which is always there. Love.

No matter the times. No matter the place. The happenings in our lives, the ups and downs. Love is always the answer. Love makes the biggest difference.

It isn’t the big things we do in life that make the difference. It’s the small things we do with constancy and grace that connect us to the flow of Love all around. It is those small significances that make the big differences possible.