Beach Glass Reflections

My grandma lives on the north shore of Lake Superior, and the beach behind her house is one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. I bask in the glory of my surroundings, however, much of my time is spent staring at my feet. My siblings and I spend hours sifting through the rocky sediment looking for perfect pebbles to bring home as mementos of our time at Grandma’s. They scour for agates- semiprecious, banded, earth-toned rocks that are well known on the North Shore. To me, agates are pretty, but they're not what catches my attention.

I love beach glass. I love the sheen that is cast when their little facets catch the sun. I love the silvery whites, burnished browns, eye-catching greens, and cool blues. I love that most of them are tiny. I love that no two have been broken the same. I like the ones that have been tossed by the waves for so long that they are smooth, like a pebble. I like the ones that have barely been in the lake long enough to lose their jagged edges. I like the way they stand out on the neutral beach, silently screaming, “Pick me!”

I love beach glass.

I think that sometimes it’s easy to identify with beach glass. Perhaps that’s why I like it so much. At times, we are broken. Something happened and caused us to shatter. Can’t be fixed. Because of the breaks, we’re just swept off the dock into a merciless lake. The fresh shards are very prone to the perpetual movement of the world’s waves. Ouch! Who wants to be bashed against a pier? Crashing storms, shifting currents. Powerful forces, so colossal that they can even grind off the sharp edge. It’s rough to be like a piece of glass in the polishing process.

Whew! What a relief to be swept up onto a beach. Have you ever felt like a sun-basking fleck of glass- as if you catch the sun a little bit differently than all of the other pebbles on the shore? A speck of bright green amongst all of the muted tones, when all you want to do is fade into the beach?

*sigh*  It's rough to be broken, even after you've been rescued from the waves.

But maybe, just maybe, it’s part of the design. Perhaps its a measure of grace that when our little life bottles are a little bit chipped, our pieces are swept into the lake. They could very well be pitched into the dumpster. But for some strange reason, a divine being sees fit that our broken edges and corners are beaten around by a few waves, and are washed up on the beach.

Perhaps it is a part of a grand sort of redemption that our brokenness can turn into a little treasure. Some are white and brown- common and reoccurring. Hurts such as these are all over the shore of life. Others are brilliantly colored- seemingly rare, but still occurring more often than you’d think on this big old beach. Unfortunately for the broken, they stick out just a little bit more. Some broken pieces are well-worn, as if they’ve been tossed by the waves time and time again, beating off the painful edges in an even more painful way. Some have relatively fresh breaks, but with just a small storm, their edges no longer pierce through the skin.

A walk on the beach offers a perfect, pocket sized reminder of this salvation from our brokenness. Not necessarily that He mends us back to our original bottle, but that once the world has its way, He can salvage our pieces and make us beautiful in a new way.

Lord Jesus,

I praise you for seeing fit to turn the things in life that are broken into gems of beauty.I pray that the little bits of brokenness in my life from the mistakes I have made will bring You glory. I marvel at the way in which You use your grace to take even the wrong in the world to magnify Yourself.

Father, I am drawn to the beach glass on the lake shore. Please guide me to those who are broken and are feeling the effects of the waves. May we together shimmer a little bit brighter, bringing glory to Your name.

I praise You for the beach glass, and for the many little reminders of Your grace abounding in my life.

Eikon (Christmas 2008)

Over break, I’m reading this book called “Embracing Grace” by Scot McKnight (professor of religious studies at North Park University). In chapter two of Embracing Grace, McKnight talks about how we are made in the image of God. We’ve heard that passage in Genesis one our whole lives,

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

(vs. 27) I think I’ve only thought about it when I need a pick-me-up on my image or when teaching the creation story at Children’s Church. Mmm… do I have a lot to learn...

McKnight explains that the word “image” in Genesis chapter one is tselem in Hebrew (the original language in which it was written) and then can be translated to the word eikon in the Greek. When we see the word eikon, we may think of our word icon, like an icon on a computer screen. I really like word pictures, and the picture McKnight paints is that we are literally made to be the icon to God, something created by Him to lead towards Himself. When I’m on my computer, I usually go straight for the firefox icon. I know that when I click on it, I will reach the internet. Could someone know that if they were to “click” on me that they will see evidence of God’s glory? Do I even think that I am capable of being an eikon that shows a glimpse of His glory? Apparently I am, because that is what He has created me to be. A song that comes to mind is David Crowder’s "Glorious", which reads,

“You make everything glorious. I am yours. What does that make me?”

Seemingly not a difficult question, but I know that there are many days in my life that I don’t feel very glorious. I occasionally struggle with my self esteem, and I know that when I do, I am failing to see that God has made me to be a little bitty icon that leads to His glory.

Some friends and I recently studied Ephesians together. A verse that stuck out to me was 2:22,

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

I asked a few of my friends what part of God’s building they would be. I think that I would want to be a window, so that people could look in and see God’s presence dwelling inside. This seems to go along nicely with the icon idea. Leading to God… having a divine purpose… showing a glimpse of who He truly is…

Sometimes when I look up at the stars, or stand on a crowded street, I am overcome by how small I am in comparison to the all knowing character of God, but I think that’s okay. Do you really think that an icon to the internet actually knows the complexity of the world wide web?

Dear friends, may I challenge you, as I have been challenged, to make sure that you are living a life as a worthy eikon of our God. May we together reflect His grace, His mercy, and His love so that those around us are drawn to view Him in His true glory.