Really Old Rocks

This weekend, we traveled to Volubilis; the ruins of an ancient Roman city. Its earliest of these ruins date back to 8000-6000 BC, and was that capital of Mauritania until it was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 40AD. (Translation in my mind: it's really, really old.)

I'm not sure if I gave the ruins all the appreciation that they were due (4 hours is a long time to be admiring ancient rocks), but as I was walking around Volubilis, all I could think of was how someday this would be me. Throughout my life, I am building monuments. Some of them are worthy, some of them are frivolous. Some will crumble and fall apart in just a few weeks, months, or years, others will last me a lifetime, others still may even outlive me. Which monuments are the ones that am I focusing on?

The world average lifespan is a little over 67 years (according to this) which means that I have 24,528 days to make my mark on the world (more or less).  Someday, when people walk through the ruins of what was my life, what impressions will they have? Will I have left positive monuments, or anything memorable at all?

Maya Angelou once said "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." The ruins that are left of me someday I want to be the ones that people can't forget, because they felt Christ's love through me. My aim has always been to be a girl who loves God and loves others, above any other aspirations I have in my life. Those are the the kind of monuments I want to leave behind.

I was also thinking, as our guide prattled on with interesting facts of life in Volubilis tons of years ago, of how fascinating it is that rocks last such a long time. Everything else about the city that once was is gone now--the cloth has frayed, the wood has rotted, the valuable items have been stolen. But the rocks, the things that were carved in stone, those are the things that have remained. Some of the rocks that I walked on or looked at this weekend have been there for more than five thousand years. Those are REALLY OLD rocks. But the rocks don't move, they don't break, they don't crumble and disappear into dust. The lyrics of an old hymn came into my mind...

"On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..."

Everything that I own in my life is going to be gone someday. No matter how much money I make, no matter how famous I am, no matter what level of "happiness" I reach (by the world's standards)... eventually its all going to be forgotten among the ruins of my life. The things that will last, the things that will be remembered, are the things that are built in the Rock.

Til Later,