Yesterday Becky and I went for walk. Living next to the mall, we found ourselves checking out some new stores in the mall including The Village Silversmith. If you have never been in this store, it is on list of stores you must check out.
Two things make this store great. First, is the rocks. They have all kinds of rocks, stones, and fossils. Everything from turquoise (Becky’s favorite) to real dinosaur fossils (my favorite) to a full sized bear skeleton (okay, maybe this one is my favorite.) The second thing that makes this store great is that it is family owned. This family has been in the rock business for over 40 years. Father, mother, sister and brother are all a part of this company. For 40 years this family has been collecting some of the most interesting and beautiful stones from around the world, and then doing what they do best, merging these stones with silver and making amazing jewelry.
While Becky and I were in the store we had the opporunity to meet and talk with John, who is the son of family. John is passionate about rocks. While we there I asked a simple question, but we did not get a simple answer.  All I asked was whether the dinosaurs fossils were genuine, or if they were some kind of remake. That question lead to probably a 20 or 30 minute explanation on just about every stone in the store.
John knew everything about every fossil and stone in his collection. He could tell you how old they were, where in the world they were found, how hard each stone was compared to others, how the different patterns were created in each stone, the different chemicals and elements that are in every stone, and on and on and on. The most impressive thing about John is that he could give you all this information without having to look it up, or even think about it. John is a living encyclopedia, a wealth of knowledge on stones. John even admitted “I know everything about rocks, any other subject not so much, but rocks that is what I am passionate about.”
I appreciate John’s passion. Rocks are his life. I was inspired by John’s love for rocks. He has something that he loves and he is pursuing it with everything he has. To be quite honest, I want to be like John. I want to be just as passionate about the important things in my life, like my relationship with God, my family, my friends, and my ministry. I want to be a living encyclopedia on Bible knowledge, so when I am asked questions I don’t have to say “let me go look that up and get back to you.” I want to be able to honestly say, “I know everything about God’s work, any other subject not so much, but God that is what I am passionate about.”
If you are ever in the North Shore Mall, be sure to stop by and talk to John, his passion will inspire you…and you will learn a few things about rocks as well.
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