Moses: Hello rock.
Rock: Hello Moses.
Moses: How are you today?
Rock: Oh, ya’ know, it pretty much rocks being me.
Moses: lol, always so witty. Hey, do you think you could give us some water? God said it was cool.
Rock: Well sure (transforms into giant office water tank). Go ahead.
Moses: Wow, that’s a pretty nifty trick.
People: WHOO HOOO. Hooray for the Lord, God of Moses! All of creation responds to His desires!
You may not recognize the above story from your time in scriptures. That’s because it never got a chance to happen. In Numbers 20:8, God directs Moses to relieve the thirst of the people and their animals by speaking to a rock “that it may yield its water.” Who knows what they may have looked like? Okay, probably not the situation above, I just had a bit of fun with it.
Instead, Moses was filled with anger and frustration at a whiny group of untrusting people. Even after all they had been through, they were blaming God for their thirst, and asking if Moses had led them to this place to die.
I imagine a large group of kids in the back of a mini-van. This trip has been much longer than they thought. They’ve asked “Are we there yet?” about a hundred times, and now have escalated to the drama of “I’m going to die, I’m so 
thirsty!!” Mom and dad are in the front, thirsty too, but driving through traffic jams in the middle of midwestern cornfields doesn’t offer many chances to stop. Finally dad slams on the breaks and pulls over. He’s had enough. He turns around to look at his children and the main goal in that moment is to stop the whining. He gets out of the car, and hits a rock. The rock starts gushing water, and the need is met.
Now for a “bigger lens”…
As parents, we want to meet the needs of our children. Just like Moses, we feel the burden of providing for our family. There are ways to do it, that honor God and help turn the hearts of our children toward responding to their ultimate provider in worship. There are other ways to do it, that simply (or luxuriously) put food on the table, but end in a result of our children being amazed at our abilities and filling their thirsts.
It’s difficult…sooo very difficult to spend time talking to rocks. But in the end we recognize our children have a thirst that goes deeper than any material item in this world can quench. More important than causing the water to flow, and meeting their every immediate need – is providing them a path on which they see and experience the love and provision of God, and are shaped to depend on Him.
The question then becomes – Where is the rock God is calling you, as a parent, to talk to?
words from wick 