Pretty Things God Has Made For Us

God Shows Himself In Marvelous Ways

All the pretty things God has made for us to use and enjoy.

God shows himself in marvelous ways.

I get to see this every time I polish a rock. What God made was perfect, but time or man has taken a toll. Some stones come to me broken and dirty. First, I clean them to learn what I can do with them. Some rocks are whole, so I have to cut them to see what they might contain.

As I examine the broken rocks, I determine if the stone would be good to slice or if the rock would be best broken and made ready for the tumbler. When it is a rock best made for the tumbler, I save it in my "breaking" bucket. When I get a quantity, I carefully crack or break the rock into pieces just the right size for the tumbler. When I break the stones, I save even the crumbs: the small BB-sized pieces, as I use these small pieces in the tumbling process.

When I determine a rock is best when sliced, I save it for the saw best suited for the size of the stone. Small rocks and slabs are hand cut with my 8-inch trim saw. My 10-inch self-feeding saw cuts the next-sized rocks. Finally, I cut the larger stones with the 18-inch saw.

When sawing, I again marvel at what God has made for us to use and enjoy. First, I get to use the rocks as an activity that keeps me busy. Second, I enjoy the process of cutting and polishing rocks. I not only get to see them in the rough "ugly" stage, but I also get to see them in the pretty polished stage.

Each slice that comes off a rock may differ from the previous slice, although sometimes the patterns and colors are similar throughout the stone. I get to see each slice and marvel at what God has made.

Cutting rocks with a diamond blade is a messy job. Oil cools the saw blade, so the rock slices come out covered with oil. This oil must be removed. This, again, is an activity that keeps me busy, but I enjoy it. As I clean each slice, I get to see what beauty God has hidden in the rock for me to see. For this, I marvel at God and thank him for his love for us in making and giving these rocks to us to use and enjoy.

After I wash the slices, I have another job or activity. That activity decides the best use of this particular slice of rock. Some of the better slices should be "hand polished" because of their color and pattern. Other portions should be tumble polished just the way they come from the saw. I will save other slices for further work, like cutting into smaller pieces for cabs or wire-wrapping stones.

As I separate the slices of rock into different piles, I see more activity piling up. I like this because I like to be kept busy.

At these times, I take inventory of the best activity to keep me busy. However, I need to concentrate on my next pressing job.

Sometimes, I need to take a break from working on my rocks and work on some of my customers' rocks. I also cut and polish for other people. I enjoy this, as I see more of the pretty things God has made for us to use and enjoy.

I wrote this for an assignment in Faithwriters.

8/28/2019.

Larry E. Whittington

Now in 2025, I don’t work with rocks like I have done in years past. Yesterday, (3/10/2025) I had a student (from the sixth grade) and his wife and three children come to look at some of my past work. They still marvel at God’s handiwork, he has made for us. I still enjoy teaching God’s handiwork with the beauty of rocks.