“I want to age like sea glass.
Smoothed by tides,
but not broken.
I want my hard edges to soften.
I want to ride the waves
and go with the flow.
I want to catch a wave
and let it carry me
to where I belong.
I want to be picked up
and held gently by
those who delight in my
well earned patina and
appreciate the changes I went
through to achieve that beauty.
I want to enjoy the journey
and always remember that if
you give the ocean something
breakable it will turn it into
something beautiful.
I want to age like sea glass.”
~Bernadette Noll
I’ve learned over the last few years how critical faith is when dealing with the unknowns of life. This has been a major blessing because, let’s face it, life is full of unknowns and most of the time it’s the unknown that scares us the most.
I enjoy watching a variety of investigative programs on TV. I enjoy watching them because I find satisfaction watching the puzzle pieces sorted out until the unknowns are eliminated. It’s takes courage and faith to face the unknowns of life with grace.
When I think about those lost with no answers on what happened to them, my heart breaks for their loved ones left behind. The soldiers who went MIA during various wars and conflicts, loved ones who were lost to kidnappings or violent crimes, children who were given up for adoption (and the biological parents who likely spend the rest of their lives wondering about the child they let go). The list goes on and on.
Those are dramatic examples, of course, but they bring an understanding to the amount of devastation left behind in the path of an unknown. It’s not just the big unknowns that cause us problems. Even the seemingly small ones can trip us up into one of the devil’s traps.
We run away from unknowns because we fear them. Adam and Eve hid themselves from God because they knew they’d crossed a line and were afraid to face the unknown response of God. From the very beginning, humans have had the instinct to run and hide when faced with fear, especially fear of the unknown.
Little kids (and many adults) fear the dark because they can’t see what’s around them. Everything becomes an unknown in the blink of an eye, and that can be scary. However, if we walk through life always afraid of what MIGHT be there, we’re not going to be walking God’s path. Walking in fear is walking the way Satan wants us to travel.
One of the most cruel things we can do to another person is to leave them with a giant unknown. When a father or mother walks out on their family or a friend turns their back without so much as a whisper as to why…that is cruelty. It leaves scars in the hearts of those who had their trust.
However, we don’t have to suffer for the scar tissue left behind. When we truly place our trust more in God’s path than in the one we envision for ourselves, the blessings come back to us tenfold.
Our happiness, peace, and security will never come from the things and people of the world. It will only come from trusting we will always have what we need when we’re walking with our eyes on God instead of the world.
It’s also important that we not harbor anger or frustration at those who leave scars in our hearts. Pray for them, love them, but don’t let them control your joy.
There was a time I would have wished I was able to exemplify the writing of Bernadette Noll in the beginning of this post…I can say without guile or exaggeration that it is no longer something I need to wish. It is something I’m learning to live!
Love the Hand of God 