God can speak to us in so many ways…if we will just learn to look and listen. Jeannie sent me this insight into what God was speaking to her as she has been spending some time away…
I woke up this morning, after we'd had a big thunderstorm in the night last night, but it was just partially cloudy and a bit windy. I put a fleece on and headed down to the beach for my morning walk with the Lord. The tide had started to go down and had again left a lot of dead sea grass and debris/trash on the beach, but between where the night tide had washed up that stuff and the where the tide was now there was a clean path for me to walk. As I walked along I found a perfect little sea shell just laying at the water’s edge. I picked it up and rinsed it off in the tide and held on to it for a little while. Then as I continued to walk, I noticed a shape in the water, hidden beneath the muddy sand. I reached down and gave it a tug and out came a BIG beautiful conch shell. I pulled it out and rinsed it off with the tide and set it on the shoreline where the resort has a row of such conch shells for decoration. I walked along a little farther and again, saw in the water, hidden underneath the muck and the muddy sand another shape - could it be? Yep - reached down and pulled out another beautiful conch shell. Washed it off and set it by the others. Jesus reminded me that often times as we walk the path of life - our eyes are drawn to the obvious pretty little shells, just sitting out in the open. But don't miss the treasure that's hidden just below the surface. If we just take the time to see... some people may have a muddy murky exterior... sometimes you have to look hard to find it and may need to give a little tug to get it out... may need to rinse it off a little but the extra effort is worth the treasure you find... It's there, you may not be able to see it or recognize it immediately - but it's there and it's beautiful and it's worth it! Don't miss the opportunity; take the time to look for the treasure that's hidden just beneath the surface.
As I reflected on this I had to wonder how often I have walked by, never noticing the hidden treasure. Then I began to think about what happens to the shell if not retrieved, rinsed…rescued. I guess it may be swept out with the receding waves…lost at sea. Or, at best…it continues to take the pounding of the waves that eventually break it down and it becomes the very sands that swallowed it in the first place…seeking to hide it away from ever being noticed.
There are so many people all around us who have ‘buried’…just beneath the surface a great treasure. God sees them as beautifully and wonderfully made! Loved, accepted, chosen, wanted… But the lies of the enemy may have them so bound…without hope…destined to be ‘lost’ forever. Are we looking for the shell that needs a rinsing? Or too easily content with what comes easily…?
The real tragedy is that if the shell is not pulled from the murky water…rinsed and displayed…then the rest of us walking the beach miss out on the beauty it was meant to show, for the glory of The One who created it. This day, may we each have eyes to see those whom God has placed in our path that may need a rinse or a rescue… Jesus offers the ultimate ‘rinse’, making us clean inside and out and unlocking the beauty and treasure buried within as He gives our lives meaning and purpose.
Not sure I will ever walk the beach quite the same again…hoping, praying I can walk out today…somehow changed.
Have a great week!
Brian
