Two Throwaway Shells

When I started my recent beach walk I knew the sun was up high enough to chase away all the serious shell seekers and that they had left with all the keepers, the good looking shells, the ones to take home and display on the mantle piece.  Still, I found myself looking down at all the thousands of the leftovers as I walked along the water's edge.  I finally picked up two shells.  Neither one could be called a beauty or a treasure.  Neither one was one which made me want to say, "Look at what I found."  They were just ordinary shells worn down by the journey and hardly anything anyone might call pretty.

 

As I held those two shells in my hand, I made a quiet decision to keep them because they are like the most of us.  Most of us are worn down more than just a little by our journey.  We have been thrown one way and another by forces over which we had no control.  And while there are some around us who might win a prize for good looks, such is not the case for me, and maybe not the most of us.  Ordinary looking is what most of us seem to be. 

 

Yet, like those two shells in my hand, we are still keepers.  The God who created us and brought us into being holds us in His hands and sees a value that not everyone is able to see.  We may look like a thousand or a million other leftovers, but we are still important to Him.  Being one of the good looking ones is not necessary for Him to stoop over and lift us up from whatever mire filled situation in which we might find ourselves.  Years ago I remember seeing a bumper sticker which said, "God don't make no junk."  It is also true the throwaway sea shells are an important part of His creation.  And, the same is true of all of us, each one of us.