When I was a kid, I collected rocks. Wherever I went, I would stare at the ground seeking stones to add to my little box of drawers. Over the years, I accumulated (found and purchased) nearly a hundred small rocks from around the country — thanks to family road trips.

Among my favorite rocks were the geodes, especially the amethyst. A geode is a sedimentary or volcanic rock with internal crystal formations.

What always fascinated me about my amethyst geode was the dual nature of this rock. On the exterior, it is rough, grey and uninviting, but crack it open and a magnificent cavern of vibrant violet crystals is exposed.

Geodes are like you and me.

As we grow up and we endure life’s elements, we may become worn and develop a harsh exterior. We might stop talking to people for fear of rejection, or stop taking risks for fear of failure, or become afraid to love and be loved because of the difficulties it may cause us.

Like Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel, we risk becoming rocks. As the classic ballad goes, we “build walls, a fortress deep and mighty, that none may penetrate.”

It takes work and care to chisel open a geode, but it is worth the trouble. What we discover when we get past the rough outer shell is a beauty and splendor we might never have imagined was there.