August 16, 2001
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on
me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
then I am strong. "
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
A friend gave me a little book that encouraged me and moved my heart this morning as I read it. It's about the beauty and value of a broken shell. In a hard time in her life the author went to collect shells at the beach, she picked up a broken one and immediately tossed it back in search of more perfect ones.. but something caused her to pick it up again and really look at it; in so doing she learned some deep lessons. As I read it I realized they were the same lessons that Paul talked about from his own struggles and ones I need to keep before me because they re how God views challenges and hard times. In the midst of something it's my tendency to see only the negative; the struggle, what's not happening the way I want it to, the pain etc.. but God wants me to see him! To see his power, to see that limitless possibilities still exist - because he is still in control. God can create beauty from nothing but what is sometimes more amazing to me is that he can create beauty from things/circumstances that I can only see as ugly!!
"If our world were only filled with perfect shells we would miss out on
some of life's most important lessons along the way.
We would never learn from adversity, pain and sorrow."
"Broken shells teach us not to look at our imperfections
but to look at the beauty... the great beauty.. of what is still left."
"Broken shells man lots of tears... lots of pain... lots of struggle
but they re also valuable for teaching faith, courage and strength."
"Broken shells inspire others and demonstrate the will to go on
in a way that no perfect shell could ever do."
"My Beautiful Broken Shell"
Caol Hamblet Adams