Stepping onto the damp sands of the coastline, the waves pushed ashore to cover the footprints that had left an imprint on it’s canvas. The impressions slowly faded as the persistence of the sea struck repeatedly until the traces were undetectable to the eye. The sand, meanwhile, didn’t know if it was coming or going. The pressure would mold it and the currents would lift it. The grains would get tossed, turned, and pummeled into places beyond it’s control. The speck of sand was at the will of the environment it was placed. Life in it’s craziness can seem much like the grains of sand.
We are placed upon this Earth much like the granular sand. It has no control over where it is or what it effects or becomes. It is completely pliable to the elements at hand. As God’s precious creation, we fit the mold. We are lifted and brought down. We are cycled upon the shores of life time and time again. And then we find ourselves in cramped dark places. It’s in those tight quarters where we find out who and what we are.
A scavenger of the sea steals away the speck of sand only to become irritated over a period of time. This displacement into darkness produces something of great value. It is a trial that seems pointless and bleak in the rawest of forms. But the end purpose produces something that neither could do on their own. During this time in captivity a pearl is formed.
The salty sea doesn’t relent. It stirs the caldron yet again and the grain of sand is lifted from the sea bed to be placed in a furnace. Out of the darkness and into a scorching light that melts away the very nature of the sand. It comes out clear an uncluttered, but attached to something more! It has a position that is transparent and is to be used by the Master Craftsmen. It is a valued creation.
You see much like the simple grain of sand; God the Father has placed you in a particular environment. It is a molding, a shaping, a melting away of something that is holding you back for your next position. You are not meant to stay in the washing cycle. There is something greater going on. It’s a me thing. It’s a you thing. It’s a Christian thing. It’s a Country thing.
Don’t let the circumstances that surround you dictate who you are. God calls you to be much more than you know. His value in you is all you need.
Godspeed, The Journeyman
Ps. Today’s story comes from the reality of life. May the sands of life be shaped in you today! Take a gander at Philippians in the New Testament. Paul expresses much of the Christian life in 4 chapters. Phil 1: 2-3, 2: 12-13, 3: 12-13, & 4:13. The pearl is found in Matthew 13: 45-46.
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