In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed found a large, shiny stone in a stream that ran through his family's small farm. He took it to show his father, a poor immigrant, who did not understand the potential value of the stone and used it to hold the door. For years, the family walked past her.
Eventually, Conrad's stone—actually a 18-pound mass of gold—caught the attention of a local jeweler. Soon after, the Reed family became wealthy, and their property became the first major gold discovery in the United States.
Sometimes we walk past a blessing, focused on our own plans and paths. After the exile of Israel to Babylon, for disobeying God, He returned to proclaim their freedom. But he also reminded them of what they had been missing: “I am the Lord your God, […] who guides you in the way you should go. Oh, if you had attended to my commandments!». Then, he encouraged them to follow him, leaving the old paths, to walk in new life: «Come out of Babylon […]; news of this with a voice of joy" (Isaiah 48:17-18, 20).
Leaving Babylon means abandoning sinful ways and "returning home" to a God who longs to bless us.