Seashells

May 9, 2009

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”
Philippians 3:7

Today I sold my beautiful glass bottle of seashells. Hundreds of shells, all hand picked by the kids and myself on our seaside holidays together. Now there is nothing but an empty space. I sold my “memories in a bottle” for a mere twenty dollars; to someone who had no idea how valuable those memories were to me!

As I grieved over the loss of my precious shells the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the parable of the “Costly Pearl” in Matthew 13:45-46. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it!” I remembered our last day of our last family beach holiday together when, quite by accident, I had discovered the most beautiful shell of all! I had waded out into some pretty rough surf and there glistening deep under the waves was a huge, perfectly formed, pure white shell! The biggest I had ever seen on Virginia beaches. It took several dives as the waves crashed into me before I got my fingers around it. It was perfect! All of a sudden, all those hundreds of other shells seemed plain, almost worthless, in comparison!

In preparation for our assignment in Africa we have had to put all that we own up for sale. Not only my beautiful shells, but all my beautiful possessions. Many hold precious memories of our family's lives together, each one has a story!

But Christ's story is even greater. His beauty far exceeds any of my earthly possessions. Give me more of Him, dear God, less of me. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7.