Healing

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RIVER ROCK OR GEM STONES?

Several years ago we took a vacation to the western region of North Carolina. Traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway was our main activity during those peaceful, relaxing days. Even our young children enjoyed the slow pace and quiet sounds of nature at its best.
Slowly meandering around mountains and deep valleys, we came upon the little mining community of Little Switzerland and we decided to stop and explore. The mines produced quartz and gemstones of all kinds, and we were able to tour one that was no longer in use.
At the mine entrance you could purchase buckets full of gemstone ore to sift through the flumes of water. You never knew what you’d end up with, sometimes the “mother load”, sometimes just little fragmented pieces! Some buckets were all one specific ore, others a mixed variety of gemstones.
Being new at this, we had to have help. We didn’t know what we were looking for! Some gemstones were obvious, like the topaz and amethyst. They looked just like they do in jewelry….purple or yellow, and very shiny like glass. Others we were told look like river rocks and we would be tempted to throw them aside because they weren’t as pretty. We soon learned what to look for and enjoyed our “treasure hunt”!
After several attempts, we had a wonderful assortment of gemstones to bring home…rubies, emeralds, lots of amethyst and sapphires. The sapphires looked like the river rock, as did the rubies. But, when looking closer at them, you could tell a distinct difference. The workers said you could place the sapphires on top of a flashlight and their true color would shine through the rock….and so it was! Sapphires come in many different colors.
They even had a rock cutter and jewelry maker there on the grounds. We decided to save that expense for another trip, and we now have all our precious gemstones in a jar on our mantle. When the time is right, we’ll turn them into some beautiful jewelry.
I couldn’t help but relate this to our own lives and the way God works. So many times we survivors tend to see ourselves as those “river rocks”, and not worth keeping. Bad things happened to us, and for some reason we personalize these events into thinking that we are now bad.
Even when we can’t see it ourselves, God sees the true value of who we are and what we are made of. He sees beyond the surface to the core where all that beautiful color is just hidden behind the scars of our abuse. He sees our potential. He sees us as gemstones.
And some glorious day He will make “beautiful jewelry” out of our rough rocks. He will cut away all the hurt and polish our lives with His love and grace. And then we will surely shine! We are a prized possession…His child. He is like that worker that went along behind us, picking up what we threw away. He will pick us up, even when we feel useless and unworthy of His grace.
And just like those sapphires on the flashlight we are nothing without God’s Light to shine upon our lives. It’s only when we are in His presence that we truly become those gemstones. His Light breaks through the barrier and shows us who and what we really are.
I like to see my journey to freedom from abuse as a “treasure hunt”!
Day by day I sift through my “ore” (issues from my abuse) and discover more and more how God is creating a real “mother load” of joy and beauty in my life.
Don’t hold onto the thought that you are only a “river rock”…..take your hurts to the Creator and let Him show you just how beautiful you really are. He’s waiting to cut and polish that precious gemstone.

*The Bible speaks of gemstones in various ways. For example:

In the chapter of Exodus when God appeared to Moses commanding him to write the ten commandments it is said that the Lord appeared to be “standing on pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky.” Exodus 24:10 (NIV)

And in the chapter of Ezekial when God appeared to him, calling him to go to the Isrealites it is written that Ezekial saw God “on a great throne made of sapphire.” Ezekial 1:26 (NIV)

God’s Word clearly indicates the Lord’s majesty! Allow Him to become your skilled “jeweler” and take those rough “rocks” (hurts) to Him today. Now is the time…
Lucy Cain

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