When my oldest daughter was three, she and I were strolling along the beach in search of shell treasures. It was December, and there didn’t seem to be much in the way of beautiful shells to be found. As we made our way down the steps to the beach, Peyton ran in excited anticipation to a large mound of broken shell pieces by the water’s edge. Carefully collecting a few, she scurried back to me clutching her treasures. “Look Mommy! I found a shell!”
Opening her hands, I saw an array of broken shards – some large, others small, but none resembling the shells they once were.
Taking advantage of that “teaching moment” and wanting to educate my daughter in the business of proper shell collecting, I quickly corrected her. “No, honey, that’s just a broken piece.” I quickly explained that there might be other whole shells worthy of picking up, even showing her some examples I found. “Oh,” she replied matter of factly. And she continued happily filtering through the pile, picking out more broken shells and placing them gently in her bucket.
As I watched her, the Lord gently spoke to me through the actions of my beautiful little girl. That’s how I see you. When others would ignore those pieces, discard them and see no value in them, I seek them out, tenderly pick them up and place them in the palm of My hand.
“..the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7
Just as my daughter saw those shells, My Father sees me.
Thank you, Lord, for salvaging my broken pieces. And thank you for those “teachable moments” – I pray I will be a better student.
