Encouragement...God's way....

      We live near the coast.  Therefore, we have quite a few various kinds of seashells strewn about our yard for aesthetic effects.  They all have their own beauty and allure.
     Today, I looked down to see the piece of an abalone shell that the puppy had gnawed on.  The sunlight was reflecting off of it just right to bring out all of it's natural visual brilliance.  I was entranced by it's beauty.
     Then a string of thoughts started flooding  through my mind.  How, that unless the abalone shell is exposed to the light, and taken from it's darkened lair from under the sea;  no one will ever see the beauty that is hidden within it.  How that one of  God's most enchanting of seashells is hidden in the most darkest of places.  Held fast, and tight, against the rocks, in a world that half the planet cannot survive in because it breathes air and not water. I had to wonder. Why would the Creator keep such a thing held for only a limited amount of people and creatures to ever see?  Why?

     Then, the thought train switched tracks. Instead of contemplative, the thoughts became active in stance, and assimilated with His Word.  I sensed how that there is a lot of "hidden beauty" in the world that most of us ignore,or are blind to, because we choose not to see it.  We don't bother to take the time to investigate it...turn over rocks, dust off a little dirt, so to speak. We don't shine the Light on these hidden gems, and therefore aren't able to see the beauty that was there the whole time.  Beauty designed by God, that was hidden, protected sometimes from the battering of life's stormy seas. I  was guilty, and I was challenged.
     For me the abalone is one of the prettiest shells on the planet.  It's colors and luminescent glow is unmatched by the hundreds of other shells that line the beach everyday on an afternoon stroll.  Knowing where it came from, and how it lived, and survived; makes it's allure all that much more enticing when finding one.
     I cannot help but know that God was teaching me something today.  That shining His Light even in the dark, speaking His Word directly to and illuminating that special beauty that lies within us all; can free and uncover a hidden treasure that no one ever knew was there.  Can I use this story to challenge you to speak light into the darkness, to bless the beauty within, someone today!
     I am going on a human abalone shell hunt.  I want God to use me as a light that doesn't expose the darkness only as a means of pointing a finger.  But instead, using me as a light that illuminates the beauty that He placed within those hidden by the darkness. Those who really want to come into the Light so that they can be admired, and cherished. Happy hunting!