It was a sad day in May 2003 when “The Old Man of the Mountain” broke
apart and slid down the mountainside. This 40-foot profile of an old man’s
face, carved by nature in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, had long been
an attraction to tourists, a solid presence for residents, and the official
state emblem. It was written about by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his short story The Great Stone
Face.
Some nearby residents were devastated when The Old Man fell. One woman
said, “I grew up thinking that someone was watching over me. I feel a little
less watched-over now.”
There are times when a dependable presence disappears. Something or
someone we’ve relied on is gone, and our life is shaken. Maybe it’s the loss of
a loved one, or a job, or good health. The loss makes us feel off-balance,
unstable. We might even think that God is no longer watching over us.
But “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to
their cry” (Ps. 34:15). He “is near to those who have a broken heart” (v.18).
He is the Rock whose presence we can always depend on (Deut. 32:4).
God’s presence is real. He continually watches over us. He is
rock-solid.
The question is not where is God, but where isn’t He? (RBC)
