Sea Glass

During a recent trip to the beach, my children and I became fascinated with sea glass. There is a lot of interesting debris washing up on beaches, including pieces of broken glass, but true sea glass has distinct qualities that make it a more precious find. As pieces of glass are tossed by the waves and currents and tumbled through sand and grit, the once sharp edges become smooth. Prolonged abrasion, however, causes the glass to become opaque, having almost a gritty finish. This process takes decades to achieve, increasing the rarity and making each find a treasure.

On the last day of our trip, I was walking the beach with eyes peeled, and I began contemplating the refining of the precious sea glass. A piece of broken, discarded glass becomes valuable after being “roughed up.” I was reminded of God’s reassurance in James 1:1-3, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Consider it pure joy when life roughs you up – not because God wants us to suffer, but because He is using those trials to refine us, to make us complete. A beautiful creation in His image. And in 2 Corinthians 4:17, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Our troubles don’t often feel light or momentary. In fact, most of us would probably describe our troubles as oppressive and continual. But in the light of eternity, our troubles are negligible. And, they are not in vain! They are part of our journey through the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.

My searching paid off as I found several pieces of sea glass in the early morning hours on that quiet stretch of beach. Suddenly, all those hours of searching faded away. I had a treasure – an old piece of broken glass made beautiful by the sands of time. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 2:23-24)

I long to be a precious treasure in the eyes of Jesus. I pray that my mind will be set on things above as I endure trials and tribulations. I pray that I will persevere in the waters of life where I can be refined rather than sitting it out along the shore. And I pray that God will take the broken pieces of my life and create something beautiful. I pray that I will be patient as the Lord works to finish what He has started in me so that when I wash up on the shore of Heaven, the Lord will rejoice in His precious find and welcome me as a treasure into His Kingdom.