The Stones Will Cry Out

My morning walks with my friend Thelma take me through an affluent neighborhood to a trail we enjoy walking. I appreciate the beauty of the landscaped yards we pass by, and several years ago I thought of a way to give back. Being an artist, I had collected stones I intended to paint for fun. Soon I was painting bugs and encouraging words on each stone. One early spring I decided to slip a stone or two into my pocket before our walk.

Then I looked for the right yard to place it in.

I wondered when the owners would notice it and whether they would read and keep it or just throw it away. As the months passed I watched for each stone as we walked past the homes. Sometimes the painted stone would get moved to a different spot, and other times they disappeared altogether. A year and a half later, my walking friend took another friend and her six-year-old granddaughter, Lilly, on our walk.

Soon Lilly began to get weary of walking up the hill. Thelma thought of a game for Lilly. Knowing where I had placed the stones, she first told Lilly to look for a stone painted like a mouse and then one with a bumble bee. As they came around the corner, she asked her to find a ladybug in the next yard. Lilly quickly found the ladybug and picked it up to show her grandma. Just then the lady of the house glanced out her window and saw her holding the stone. She came running out and asked them a question. “Do you know where this stone came from?” she asked. Thelma told her that a friend had painted it and placed it there.

The homeowner’s eyes teared up, and she asked, “Can I give you a hug?” She shared that on the day she first noticed the stone, she had received a cancer diagnosis and felt terribly discouraged. When she picked up the ladybug stone and read, “Keep hope and have peace,” she felt like a special message had been sent just to her! She asked her neighbors if they knew where the stone had come from, but no one did. “I treasure my ladybug,” she said, “and keep it in a special place in my flower bed to remind me to hold on to hope.” Thelma could hardly wait to tell me the story. If Lilly had not gotten tired and Thelma had not come up with the game, we never would have discovered the impact of that stone.

I guess stones truly can speak!

Judith Woodruff Williamson