worry stone

Many years ago, I was called to the home of a church member who had passed away. I sat with the family, and we planned the funeral service. In the course of the visit, I noticed the husband of the deceased holding a stone in his hand. It looked a little like the one in the picture above.

When I asked about it, the husband explained that it was a “worry stone.” A worry stone is a smooth, polished stone used to relieve stress or anxiety. They are typically oval shaped and have a thumb sized indentation. To use a worry stone, you typically hold it between your thumb and index finger and move your thumb across the indentation. The idea is that this action absorbs fidgeting and sends calming messages to the brain.

The husband handed it to me, and for the rest of the visit I rubbed my thumb across the stone. As I was leaving, I went to hand it back to the husband and he said, “Pastor, I think you should keep it. You have been wearing it out ever since I handed it to you. I think you need it more than I do.”

I still have that worry stone and it is one of the prized possessions of my ministry at Virginia Hills. I keep it in my office with the dachshund shaped foot scraper that Gerald Strickler gave me, the walking stick that Homer Hammersley gave me, and the “golden” railroad spike that Don Shamblin gave me.

After 37 years of ministry, I have quite a collection of this kind of stuff. I have a clock that the church gave me on my fifth anniversary as pastor, the little plastic dinosaur that a preschooler slipped into my pocket one year, and the tiny toy excavator that Jody Faig gave me at the last service in the old building.

I keep these things as a reminder of how much I love being the pastor at Virginia Hills, and the wonderful people that have made my ministry a such a joy. As we look to a new chapter in the life of our church, I look forward to more ministry and more wonderful people. God has more in store for us than we could ever imagine!