Monday, May 31, 2010

My HEART Rocks on My Porch




I bought these fun, romantic heart rocks off of eBay a few weeks ago, and when they came in the mail, I was excited. Until I saw how crushed the box was...but here was what was inside...

 Crushed box

I had bought 50 + naturally heart shaped rocks for 25.00 ( w/ free shipping ). Free shipping was THROWING them in a box too flimsy from Arizona to South Carolina.
But, most arrived OK.
Here they are. I had no idea what I was going to do with them anyway, put them in the garden ? In a bowl or planter ?
Then I looked over at the big vintage wooden Mexican platter and laid them inside. I had to take Maxine's leash out , but she did not notice as she was busy on squirrel patrol.
There she is , the intimidator.

That's my cute new hummingbird hanger w/ basket .

Will be pretty soon, or prettier, I think it is pretty now.

I started picking up all the rocks, feeling the smoothness, and thinking about how certain heart rocks reminded me of some people that I have loved , do love. This little white one is possibly my favorite.

Here was a large, heavy one. I was considering the weight of the love I have felt before for people, and then considering who this one symbolized to me.
I looked at the large tray of heart rocks, and wondered if I had loved, truly loved that many people before in my life ? At first I thought no , not in a romantic sense...then they would only be able to fit in the palm of my hand. But when I considered my family, some of my children's friends that practically lived with us all the school years ( or ate us out of house and home, cried over lost loves over my kitchen table , sleep overs, etc. ), then I could see that I have loved that many people.

Some smaller ones I put in this shell.

Rosie@Leavesnbloom told me she thought my little back porch looked like a magpie feathering her nest with found objects.
How true, I smiled when she wrote me that comment.

Forgot that I threw out the other broken heart rocks, but I kept this one.

I put it together in my hands sometimes . I have left it to the side, by the whole heart rocks to remind me to try not to break a heart, or to remind me of when I have had a broken heart.
To see the delicacy of a heart.
I know that God can mend broken hearts , it may not even always be in this lifetime...but eventually He can if we allow him to. I also believe they are the hardest body part to ever mend.
We all need to treat them , our own and other people's, with extreme care.
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. ( thanks Rosie ! )
A neat little tole heart frame that I leaned over here for now.

So this is what I see now, when I walk out on my porch to go to my garden.
I know that my back area here is ' too busy ' looking. That's alright with me for now. It is my outside nest.
It is raining cats and dogs here,
thunderstorms all day so far,
Bless you,
Gina

" For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart. " Psalm 7:9-10

20 comments:

  1. Gina....first you have such a pretty garden. I became quite enchanted as I viewed the photographs.

    The hearts are such a wonderful idea. I love how you view them. A reminder of the times you have loved, the people you have loved.....and of a broken heart (I think we have all had one at some point)......

    A thought provoking post......

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  2. Thanks for the mention Gina - I'm glad my comment brought a smile to your face. I never knew you could get heart shaped rocks - so does someone go picking them or have they a technique for erroding the stone to make into hearts? They are so cute. Glad you kept that broken heart it reminds me of this verse

    Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

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  3. Thanks Cheryl, I love your garden very much !

    To Rosie, Yes, that is a verse I was trying to recall , I will add that to my post. These are naturally formed rocks , i believe you can buy some hat are man made...but then they look perfect ,and I like them to look not perfect, take care, Gina

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  4. I enjoy collecting interesting pebbles on a beach they are so tactile but rarely heart shaped.

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  5. Nature is just amazing. I love the heart shaped rocks and the meanings they hold for you.

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  6. I like your porch with all of your wonderful objects that tell something about you. I have been a rock collector since childhood, and I think your heart shaped ones are very special. I love the sentiments you expressed and the verses to go with them.

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  7. Gina, I have a small collection of heart-shaped rocks, too! I always have my eye out for them. Last fall, some children who were visiting me tossed them into another pile of rocks on our property. I retrieved MOST of them, but not all...

    (Another "lesson" from heart-shaped rocks. Once you "lose heart" it is difficult to retrieve. Better to "guard" one's heart!

    Your lessons are SO apt.

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  8. p.s. I answered you question in the comment section of my blog. I figured others might be curious, too. :)

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  9. Stones are often very sacred obects. The black stone of the Kabba, the most sacred object in Islam, is a meteoritic stone, and the the capstone at the top of the Great Pyramid, now in the Cairo museum, is also a meteoritic stone.

    The idea was that stones which fell from the sky were the souls of angels. The motif of Superman falling from the sky is a similar idea.

    And Christ 'came down to earth from heaven'.

    These are metaphors, and a stone is the symbol of the metaphor.

    The NT, 1 Peter 2, refers to Christ as 'our living stone'.

    Those broken stone images capture the imagination. One could almost say that a broken stone is like a person separated from the divine.

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  10. Thanks much Joanne, Deb , Catherine and Rebecca for all your nice words.

    To Robur , I know what you ar talking about, have learned a bit about that in an Art History class I took. I think the reason the small white rock appeals to me, calls to me, is the symbolic meaning of white signifying purity. The purest love is from God. Appreciate your comments very much.

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  11. I thought that the most 'unusual' thing about your post was the broken stone(s).

    You were expecting a parcel to be delivered intact, and stones are pretty robust. It must have taken some impact to do that damage.

    An interesting angle is - why did the box get crushed?

    On one hand, you can say, oh that was 'just an accident'. On the other hand, you can say that significant unexpected events happen because of something divine. And that something wanted you think about it.

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  12. Great perspective. All postal services can break anything, I have discovered from selling online ,she should have padded it somehow, as you know you could throw a rock hard to the ground and break it. And this was almost 10 lbs. of rocks all together getting thrown around. But... I know that something divine ( God ), teaches me through broken objects, broken dreams and broken relationships often. Thanks much fellow pondering philosopher.

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  13. What a great collection, amazing that someone was willing to part with them.

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  14. Yes, I agree, thanks for stopping by, Gina

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  15. I love the rocks!!!! Thank you for the sweet comment on my blog! I am glad you left it, so I could find you :-).

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  16. HI Dirt Princess, You have a great blog , and what I said was true !

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  17. Dropped by from Rusty's...love your blog..as of right now I am your newest follower. I love me some Jesus too!!

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  18. Thanks so much Darla, I will check out your blog too, Gina

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  19. hi gina,

    your lost and found garden is so beautiful. i never feel more at peace than when i'm in my garden. your heart rocks are so sweet. just last week i was digging in one of my beds and found a small heart rock. it's just sitting on my porch right now waiting to be placed somewhere.

    ~janet

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  20. You found one IN your garden !!?? That's more exciting than me buying a box of them ! lucky duck ! Thanks so much for stopping by , Gina

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I love comments , please leave one if you like. I try to respond to comments,but if I'm running behind, please know that I read each one before they are published. Thanks much, Gina