I haven’t written a post in a while, and today’s is no exception. An anonymous reader sent me the following story, asking that it be posted as a “shoulder tap.”
Without further adieu, here’s an anonymous tale about broken sand dollars.
“On The Beach (a shoulder tap)
This morning I took a walk on the beach. It was a cool morning with just a hint of moisture. It was the kind of fog which was easier felt than seen. The sun had been out but retreated behind the normally overcast morning sky making the sand and ocean dull and somewhat grayish.
Our tide chart showed the tide was approaching one of the very low tides of the year. These are measured by the tide height above or below mean low tide. This was a foot plus lower so tide pools dotted the north end of the beach. Starfish clung to the rocks and the reflections of some favored with bright colors were easily spotted.
Farther to the south, the low tide uncovered sand bars dotted with shells, crabs, and debris left by the receding tide. I always look at sand dollar shells even if I don’t pick them up. Sand dollars have thin, round shells that are thicker at the middle and tapering to the edges. They look like small discs and while some are smaller than a fingernail, others as large as a good-sized cookie. Often hard to find, ocean currents can move them easily; somewhat like water born Frisbees. This morning a number of sand dollars ended up on the bars.
Because of their shell’s thinness, very few “perfect” shells make it to the beach. Most have badly chipped edges or holes in the top where they’ve been beaten against other shells, small rocks or even damaged by being tossed about in the waves.
My morning devotional struck as I looked at a damaged sand dollar. Hard to say if it’s top was missing because of a collision with a rock, another shell, the coarse sand somewhere else, or just worn away by time.
So I imagined myself walking with Jesus on the sand bar. Of course, I was wandering about from sand dollar to sand dollar, picking up only those with no scars, dents, cracks, chips or discoloration. I’d pick one up, examine it for perfectness and inevitably discard it as not quite good enough.
Looking back I saw Jesus picking up a disaster of a sand dollar. It was chipped in many places, the top was missing exposing the inner structure and it was a very dark color. Jesus was excited! “Look Joe”, he called out,” here’s another one”. I knew there weren’t any “good” specimens on that part of the sand bar so I had to amble over to see why He was so excited. He held the ragged shell up, turned it every which way and was enthralled with it. I must have had a disappointed look on my face as I thought He must have found a “perfect” one that I had overlooked. Then He said “Joe, can you just imagine what I can make of this?”
I was stunned when the impact of His message struck me. I go through life looking for perfection: in what I do, in what I say and in those I meet, those I love, and those I pass by without even noticing them. Like looking for sand dollars, I sometimes want to be around only the “best” people. I guess, to be truthful, I’m disappointed and confused when life passes out chipped, distorted, fractured, cracked lives around me. But Jesus isn’t.
I see in the search for sand dollars the parallel with life. Lives, like sand dollars, come with scars, chips & breaks resulting from just living in an imperfect world. These lives have been battered by beating against other lives, shattered by the rocks of life, chipped by words or thoughtless deeds, or discolored by tragedy. I may steer away from such lives but Jesus doesn’t. He sees the beauty and possibilities in each life. He looks at the brokenness and exclaims “Hey Joe, watch what I can do with this life!” or “Joe, look at the possibilities in this broken sand dollar!”
My reflection hasn’t been completed. I see the broken sand dollars but have to tune myself to the broken or “imperfect” lives I see around me. I can never look at situations or people’s lives with the eyes of Jesus but I can imagine each one I meet with the same thought “Hey Joe, just think what I can do with this life.”
I’ll go to the beach tomorrow morning. I wonder what I’ll find?”
Well, what do you think after reading this story? Please add your comment below. I’d really like to know how this tale affected you.
Have a nice day.
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