Picking Up Rocks
Early in life I was fortunate enough to get a summer job picking rocks out of a farmer’s field in West Texas. To my young eyes the fields seemed endless, and the rocks seemed far too heavy and rough for my tender hands and adolescent body. At the time I didn’t realize it, but something was happening inside of me. A kind of growth I didn’t know I needed was beginning.
For the first time I was working for someone other than my own family farm. Up until then my work had been on our cattle and chicken farm. This was different. This was work where someone trusted me, counted on me, and paid me.
None of the rocks were the same. They had no meaning to me individually. But every single one shaped me.
Even now, years later, I think about that job often. I can still picture the field and feel the heat of the day. I can almost smell the hot ground and feel the rough edges of the stones in my hands.
Believe it or not, those memories bring me joy. That job shaped me even at nine years old. It taught me that money meant something because sweat, and sometimes blood, were required to earn it. It taught me to value rest because rest felt good after honest work. It taught me that being trusted to do a job made you feel valuable. It built confidence in me that continued to grow through the years.
I used to joke every time we went back to that field: “Man, I think these rocks grow out here.” Because no matter how many we picked up, the field never seemed to change. It always looked like we had barely made a dent. But that’s often how growth works. You don’t always see the difference day to day.
The same is true in our walk with Christ. We read the Word. We pray. We serve. We show up again and again, yet sometimes, it feels repetitive. Sometimes it feels like we are not making much progress. But every step of obedience is shaping us.
Scripture reminds us:
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9
Just like those fields, God is doing work in us even when we cannot see the progress. Every prayer. Every act of obedience. Every time we choose what is right — It may feel small in the moment, but it is shaping the man we are becoming.
The Bible also tells us:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” — Colossians 3:23
Those rocks had no purpose to me at the time. But God used them to build something in me. Work ethic. Gratitude. Confidence. Perseverance.
Sometimes the smallest jobs in life end up laying the strongest foundations.
Just like those rocks in that West Texas field, the things God asks us to do may seem ordinary, but each one is shaping us into the man He is calling us to be. One day we will look back and realize that the field we thought never changed, changed us completely.
A Challenge for Men
Men, most of life is spent picking up rocks. It’s the work that nobody celebrates; the responsibilities that show up every single day. It’s the quiet obedience to do what is right when nobody is watching. Providing for your family. Leading your home. Showing up when you’re tired. Choosing integrity when compromise would be easier. All of these can feel like that field in West Texas — like the work never ends and the progress is hard to see.
But God is doing something in those moments.
Every act of discipline builds character.
Every responsibility carried, builds strength.
Every step of obedience builds the man God is shaping you to become.
Scripture says:
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” — 1 Corinthians 16:13
So don’t despise the rocks in your field. Pick them up. Do the work. Stay faithful.