Sea Glass

A few months back, I went on a girls trip with some amazing friends courtesy of our husbands who decided to give us a break from mommyhood for a few days. So we packed up our things, boarded a flight to Cali and headed for a west coast road trip once we arrived in San Francisco. After enjoying San Fran, we traveled north to Point Arena and Mendocino before making our way back south to spend a few days in Sonoma and wine country. We had an amazing time traveling Highway 1 along the rocky coast with good views, good music, and good conversation.

One of our stops along the way was to Glass Beach in Mendocino. We were on a limited timeframe in order to also fit in our trip to the National Redwood Forest that day on our way back to Sonoma, so we arrived at Glass Beach, and raced out of the car to begin our journey of collecting the famous sea glass. Glass Beach in California is believed to have the highest concentration of sea glass in the world. This glass is essentially derived from discarded garbage and litter. It is a surprising delight from one of mankind’s crimes against nature.

                                                             (Glass Beach Photo 1*)

Once on the rocky coast of Glass Beach, we fingered these smooth, sparkling, refined, beautiful pieces of glass in our hands that started as nothing but garbage, and carefully selected the perfect pieces to add to our collection. Life walking with Christ is a lot like a trip to Glass Beach. The Lord takes our broken, dirty, worthless and discarded selves, and makes us into something smooth, sparkling, beautiful and refined. He makes us new. With Christ, we are treasure, not trash.  A lot of things in our life harden us, break us, stain us, and tarnish us. The best part about life is that we, just like the discarded glass that washes up on Glass Beach, are malleable. God is able to take the broken, jagged pieces of who we are, and refine them to create a masterpiece.

When you choose to walk with Christ, it does not guarantee you an easy road. In fact, it takes years for the glass pebbles on Glass Beach to be pounded by the brutal waves and churned up in order to become the masterpieces they are. Walking with Christ does not solidify an overnight transformation from trash to treasure. It does not ensure that the rest of your walk through this life is sunshine and rainbows.  Instead, it ensures that you have the comfort, protection, grace and mercy, and unfathomable love of Christ to help you through the trials that you may face.  Following Christ doesn’t give you a hall pass from grief, depression, financial hardships, relationship issues, addictions or any other chains of this life.  But it does offer you an outlet, a refuge, a rock during those times, and ensures that you are on the side of the victor.

When you’re pounded by the waves, and the trials of life are churning, God is your refuge. God will give you strength to praise Him through the storm, until he delivers you to the shore.

Psalm 91:2- I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (NIV)

*Glass Beach Photo 1 courtesy of amazingstoriesaroundtheworld.blogspot.com