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+---
+title: Legendary Rocks
+---
+
+Life Lesson: Rely on God's appraisals for what has real value in this
+life.
+
+One of my favorite duties as a grandfather is taking the grandchildren
+on exciting expeditions in the river bottoms near the homestead house in
+Ridgefield. Whenever they come over and the weather is pleasant, we will
+pack a bag full of snacks and pile onto one of the four
+wheelers.![](md/41_Legendary_Rocks-media/media/image1.jpeg){width="6.5in"
+height="4.875in" alt=""}We ride the four wheeler down to the old Pioneer
+Cemetery and park it at the entrance gate. Next we walk down a road that
+descends down to the bottoms. There we have a great time eating snacks
+and exploring the many ponds, creeks and marshes of the river
+bottoms.![](md/41_Legendary_Rocks-media/media/image2.jpeg){width="6.5in"
+height="4.875in" alt=""}There are many ways to get dirty and muddy, but
+that\'s the whole point \-- to get grubby and have a good time doing
+it.![](md/41_Legendary_Rocks-media/media/image3.jpeg){width="6.5in"
+height="4.875in" alt=""}On one of these occasions, I was quite amused
+about what developed as we were coming back home. This was in the Spring
+of 2017. The winter rains had been particularly heavy and washed out
+large sections of the road. There were thousands of large round river
+rocks strewn about, most of which were rather plain grey rocks that had
+been smoothed by years of tumbling in the riverbeds. Occasionally, you
+could find one that was a little different from the rest. Perhaps it was
+white instead of grey. Some of them were reddish or nearly dark purple.
+Some of them had steaks of quarts or other interesting features that
+made them stand out from the other dull grey ones.\
+\
+On our journey back home, as we walked on the road back up the hill
+to the cemetery, Grady decided to assume the role of \"gemstone
+expert.\" Whenever he saw a particular rock of interest, he would pick
+it up and use an appropriate adjective to classify it. The first few
+rocks were described by phrases such as \"Oh here\'s a cool one\" or
+\"this one is kind of pretty.\" Now Madden and Charly were quite eager
+to assume the role of \"gemstone pack-mules.\" They were
+enthusiastically willing to receive Grady\'s choices of the best rocks
+and incorporate them into their own personal treasure trove.\
+\
+Soon, both Madden and Charly had all the rocks they could carry, but we
+were only half-way up the hill and there were plenty of treasures left
+to discover. Madden\'s pockets were so full of rocks that his pants were
+on the verge of falling to his ankles, but he was determined to get all
+his priceless treasures back home. Charly didn\'t have pockets, so she
+clutched all her treasures to her chest with both arms. When Grady
+pointed out another rock on the ground, she would bend over to get it
+and loose several from her collection in the process.\
+\
+It was impressive to observe Grady\'s skill at filling his role. His
+adjectives got progressively stronger as he went on. \"Pretty\" and
+\"cool\" progressed to \"awesome\" and \"amazing.\" Soon he was all the
+way up to using \"spectacular\" and finally \"legendary.\" I really
+couldn\'t tell if he actually believed his own sales pitch. His
+enthusiasm was infectious and convincing, but I thought I detected a
+slight impish grin in his expression. After all, he wasn\'t carrying a
+single rock and yet his younger brother and sister were staggering up
+the hill with all they could carry. Someday I\'ll have to ask  him if he
+was having a little fun at their expense or if he was genuinely
+convinced of the immense value of his gemstone appraisals.\
+\
+It caused me to reflect a bit about the experience. It made me wonder
+about how willing I am to believe the sales pitch of the worldly
+salesmen. Is it possible that I am just as easily convinced to carry a
+burden of stones through life, whose value is probably not nearly as
+high as purported by the \"subtle craftiness\" of those who \"lie in
+wait to deceive?\"\
+\
+As I pondered later over the experience, I became grateful for the
+knowledge that we have a reliable source of appraisals we can trust to
+help us assign value to that which will truly bring lasting joy.