Seashells

We recently spent an afternoon on a gulf coast beach. 

We spent the weekend in a state park, enjoying the beautiful weather and hiking and biking on the shoreline and on the trails.

One afternoon, as Steven and I stopped for a walk on the beach, we explored the washed up remnants of the tide: shells and driftwood and jellyfish. It reminded me of when I was young. 

As a child, I spent lots of time at the beach; my mother had a great love for all things sand, ocean, and salt breeze. We often worked on projects involving shells, even filling two large glass lamps with them! From the time I was very young, Mom taught me which shells would be the prettiest for a particular project. 

I spent many hours searching for those beautiful shells. The perfect ones. The unusual ones. The flawless ones. 

But in recent years, my thoughts on shells have changed.

In my adult years, I look for shells that are worn, with ragged edges and small holes and weathered openings. Instead of flawless ones, I gravitate to those with flaws. 

Why am I now attracted to these? Like me, they’re on a journey. God is forming beauty in their character, in their stories. Something powerful happened to these shells to make them rough yet smooth, whole yet broken - perfectly imperfect.

Like weathered shells, we are all of these things. 

I appreciate the wisdom we gain in simply living life. It is a priceless experience to be carried over and over by the waves, to go out to sea, have an adventure and then ride the tide to find oneself on the beach again - all the time, in the hands of the Father. 

In these years of weathering, God refines our character through the journey. We are becoming people who have something beautiful to offer in our imperfection.

I can now recognize the value of that tribulation on the rough seas. I respect the grit and the grace it takes to wash ashore again and again.

Here, we’ve learned hard lessons. 

We’ve lived adventurous stories. 

We’ve beheld redemption.

We’ve discovered how to rely on Him.

In reflection, would I change the wave-riding, sand-in-my-sandwich, imperfectly fractured pieces of my life? 

Not a chance.

For amid the weathering, I sense God’s merciful love and wisdom in the journey that is my life.

To Meditate On…

Praise our God, all peoples,
    

let the sound of his praise be heard;

he has preserved our lives
    

and kept our feet from slipping.

For you, God, tested us;
    

you refined us like silver.

You brought us into prison
    

and laid burdens on our backs. 

You let people ride over our heads;
    

we went through fire and water,
    

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Psalm 66:8-12 NIV

Those who sow with tears
    

will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping,
    

carrying seed to sow,


will return with songs of joy,
    

carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:5-6 NIV

Today is a GOOD day!

Natalie