Beauty, through the Brokeness and Storms

Issac, the storm, was predicted to head right where we were scheduled to go for a wedding this weekend. I felt bad for the wedding party and all of their hard work they had done that might be in trouble. We waited each day as it got closer to hear where the storm was and when the projected day and time it was supposed to hit would be... As it got closer to the time we were to leave, it looked like the worst part was going to be heading in a different direction. Destin got some rain but was really lucky not to get the strong winds and flooding that had been predicted. So we left and drove down with no rain at all. The festivities happened just as planned and there was a beautiful wedding to enjoy! Yesterday, the day after the wedding, we were on the beach, taking a walk. I had heard that the best day to find shells is the day after a storm when they all would be washed to shore. So, I was on the hunt to find the perfect shell. At first glance, the only thing that was brought to shore was seaweed! It was big, thick , grassy type seaweed. It was not a pretty sight at all, and the shells seemed to have stayed out to sea since we didn`t see much at all. We continued to walk and finally came upon this beautiful white shell. It looked perfect at first glance, all alone, in the middle of a sea of sand. But when I picked it up, you could tell, it was a bit broken around the edges.

I looked a bit longer and found a penny. A PENNY?!! at the beach? It didn`t look like a new penny that had dropped from someone`s pocket. It was rusted and salted from the ocean. I immediately picked it up for my lucky penny. It was a reminder of all the times that mother and I had picked up lost pennies together and saved them..

It reminded me of how God takes brokeness and turns it into something beautiful. This shell had been in the rough seas, tossed and turned and bumped, and finally chipped and broken. As the tide brought it to shore, it turned into something beautiful. It was almost shining as the sun reflected on it, and the brightness of the pure white color , was beautiful to look at. It reminds me of me. I am as imperfect as the next person. I serve a perfect God who loves us unconditionally. He can transform our lives from broken into precious, from empty to full. He, and He alone, can change our lives from brokeness into beautiful.. Sometimes we get tossed and turned in life, bumped a bit, and even chipped and broken but He can use that for good. One of my favorite author/singer is Gwen Smith. She writes books and songs of encouragement and so much more. In one of her devotions, she talks about good friends. She talks about "doing life" with those girlfriends that "get her". She talks about having conversations that are stranded together with laughter, rich revelations, lots of love, treasures of time and gobs of grace! She reminds us that some of the most powerful blessings of friendship can be found in broken places, in the trenches. These are times when we rise up to encourage one another with God`s promises, share reminders of His truth, offer prayers for problems and speak hope to a sister who`s hurting... I love that! I love the fact that you can indeed look at those trials, those past sins, those times of brokeness and see the beauty that God has made from it. It takes those times, to make us grow and to give us wisdom to be able to see the beauty of His plans, His will... I love that God blesses us with girlfriends. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 Hope you have a great week! Love,