"A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together..."

If you ever lived on a lot or acreage that was stony ground, and you wanted to plant a garden, there were a lot of rocks that had to be removed before a garden could happen.  And you had to dig deep.  Those stones had to go--to give the roots of the plants a place to flourish and grow.

You don't buy stony ground if you plan to be a farmer.  The soil is your livelihood and must be free from rocks, or you will destroy your plow before you can even think about planting crops.  Even the best land occasionally has stones.  They have to be cast out.

However, stones are the building blocks of civilization.  You don't have to drive very far in Oklahoma to find a house built from red rock.  In Oklahoma, larger buildings in most small towns dot the landscape--constructed with red rock.  And in towns across America, court houses, jails, fire stations and banks are still standing that were built in the 20's and 30's by using rock--local rocks that change colors as you move West--depending on what kind of stones are in the ground in that area.   We have a cemetery in Edmond that is surrounded by a fence of random red rocks that people gathered up for that purpose.  "There was a time to gather stones together."

The man who does my yard work has brought me a load of large stones every week this year.  He has surrounded my Koi pond with them.  And lined some of the flower beds as well.  The farmer who lives across from my daughter Pat--out in the country--is clearing his fields of these huge boulders and piling them up at the fence.  Free for the taking.  So, my gardner has gathered them up in his pickup every week to bring to me.

Now, when it rains, my Koi pond doesn't fill up with dirt washed down from the house behind me.  The stones stop the run off.  No more muddy water.  My fish are happy.  I am happy.

The farmer cast the stones away, and my gardner gathered them up.  Biblical!