Rocky Ground; Rocky Faith?

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The act of gardening is a test of study, faith, patience and nurturing, especially when planning on where to plant given environmental factors such as soil, light, and water. Consider a patch of rocky ground. In reality, not much grows well in this type of soil since there is so much that is against it. There is rarely enough actual soil for a seed to germinate, if a seed can even get through the cracks of the rock. Then, little sun and little amounts of water can shine through the cracks. On a rare occasion, one will be surprised with a sprout peeking out from the crevice of stones. As the parable notes, after a couple of days of direct sunlight, it withers away, because the lack of soil and water lead to a lack of a root system.

Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away…As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

-Matthew 13:5-6 & 20-21 (ESV)

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Rocky ground is a lot like a person with rocky faith. I have been through and observed others through this faith phase in life. When a person accepts and receives the love of Jesus, he feels wonderful and seeks to share with others this great rush of God's love. However, often the lack of understanding, enlightenment and wisdom, causes a person's faith not to endure when faced with problems, arguments or persecution from others against the word of God. It is like a student who understands broad implications of an issue, but has not studied the depths of the factors behind the issue AND is trying to win a person over to their point of view. Or, biblically speaking, the person fails to "preach the word; be[ing] ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2) because their faith is not deeply rooted in relationship with God through Bible study and prayer.

Do you remember a time that your faith was rocky like that described on rocky ground? What made it so? Were you able to move beyond it? If so, how?