When I was out working the ground for corn planting this spring, I found a most unusual rock. Now, I have a fair number of rocks on our farm here, and when I’m out working the land, I will stop and pick a lot of them up, especially the bigger ones. I have rock buckets on a number of pieces of equipment here, so I can easily stop and pick up rocks and throw them in. Then, when I get close to a rock pile, I can unload them.

Well, I hit a good-sized rock, so I got off the tractor to pick it up. It wasn’t that easy, though; the rock was sticking out of the ground, but most of it was still buried. I worked on it and got it out, and I was surprised what it looked like. It was almost a perfect heart-shaped rock, except one side of it had been busted off some from tillage equipment hitting it over the years. Overall, it looked pretty good, even though it was plastered with mud and dirt.

I wondered if my wonderful wife, Joanne, would like it. So, when I got to the rock pile to unload my full rock bucket, I set the large heart-shaped rock off to the side. I knew I would have to come down the next day to finish the field, so if my sweetheart wanted the rock, I could bring it home then.

That evening, I told her about the special rock and asked her if she would like it. She was overjoyed about it and said, “Yes.” It would be a beautiful addition to her flower garden. So the next day, when I was done working the field, I loaded the heavy rock back into the rock bucket and brought it home.

I unloaded it just outside my shed, and Joanne quickly came to look it over. She was thrilled with it. A few days later, I took the pressure washer and gave it a real good washing. I was surprised how beautiful it looked once I got all the mud off. I also was in for another pleasant surprise; it had another heart shape on the face of it where a piece of tillage equipment had hit it years earlier and chipped a piece off, leaving a perfect heart shape.

Then, I gave my sweetheart a double heart-shaped rock for her birthday. I put it into her flowerbed with a big red ribbon on it. She was just overjoyed. Obviously, what really blessed her was my love for her and giving it to her in love.

The rock-shaped heart in Joanne Heck's flowerbed. Image by Tom Heck.

Now, many rich people brag about how many carats their big diamond rings are. But, with many of these people, there isn’t much love behind them; it’s mainly just a show. Oftentimes, they have poor marriages or even get divorced. Then they fight over their diamonds. There’s a saying or a song made famous by Marilyn Monroe, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” That may be true for some people, but how sad that is.

I know Jesus is the best friend anybody could ever have. I know also that a godly spouse and godly children are far more precious and valuable than any large diamonds. Oh yes, my heart-shaped rock weighs far more than any diamond, 70 pounds. I got them all beat. It’s a hunk, but my love for Joanne is far more than that.