With the sound of shattering glass, I knew I had messed up. I was afraid to turn around - afraid to see what I had done. Which one of my mom's breakables had I destroyed this time? I knew I had to face my mistake sooner or later. Slowly, I turned around. All of mom's figurines and home decor were intact. However, my sigh of relief turned to an exhale of horror when I saw what lay before me in pieces. It was my green rock slab. I find most of my rocks out in the wild but when I saw this slab in the rock supply shop it stole my heart. I had to have it. I had big plans for painting that rock but now my big plans lay in tiny pieces scattered all across the floor. The leopard I had seen prowling across the mossy surface vanished as quickly as the rock had shattered.
I didn't want to cry but I felt like it. There was really only one small piece big enough to save. Even then, this piece was barely mouse-sized. It wouldn't make much of a painting. Still, I tucked the little piece away. Maybe someday somewhere, my painting would bring some joy to a lonely mouse house.
That wasn't the first of my rocks to break. For years these little rock fragments accumulated in the bottom of my stash. Often, I asked myself what to do with them. I did not have an answer, but one of my friends did. One day she told me my paintings would be beautiful as jewelry. Jewelry? My mind took me back to the day I crashed my green rock. The leopard was creeping back into the picture.
My grandpa taught me to find the best rocks and how to properly identify leaverite (short for "leave-her-right their"). He also taught me a trick or two on jewelry making. I combined the old wire wrapping technique with my painting to produce my very first pendant painting. At first I hated it but then it started to grow on me like moss grows on roofs.
Those many years ago, I watched my green rock fall to pieces. Now I marvel to think at what that rock has become. Have you ever felt like your life has been shattered and all your hopes and dreams are broken? I have (and I am not referring to the time I broke my rock). It feels pretty bad. One thing life has taught me is no matter how broken you are, you can still triumph. Oh, you may never be able to put yourself back together the way you were before, but you can become something you never dreamed you could be. So just hold on. You never know what beautiful things lie ahead. Perhaps there is even a friend that will help you along your way. Perhaps you are the friend that can help someone else along theirs.
Check the Shop Painting page to see if the Leopard Pendant Painting is still available.
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