Sea Glass

Last month I was at a big holiday festival.  We were vendors there and during a lull I went and browsed at all the other tables.  I came across a lady who sold sea glass.  Her family owned a lighthouse in Canada and has been collecting sea glass for years.  She then uses it to make jewelry, decorate mirrors, candle holders, shadow boxes and a plethora of other things.  She also gave out literature on the nature of sea glass.  I was bored so I read the pamphlet.  And by the end, I was in love with the little colored pieces.

Legend says that sea glass is the hardened tears of mermaids who wept over the death of sailors lost at sea.  That is a fair bit of romantic (though appealing) nonsense.  In truth, sunken ships actually do have a lot to do with it.  Sea glass is the remains of ships that sank long ago, smoothed and colored by the ocean and it's natural properties.  Clear glass like lanterns and windows makes up the majority of sea glass that is found which is turned cloudy blue and green by the ocean.  The more rare lavender or pink pieces are from shards of fancy colored glass like perfume bottles.

I don't know why I found this so fascinating.  Every piece of sea glass has a history.  It's old (mostly because ships don't sink as much as they used to, plus plastic is used in place of glass now adays), once belonged to someone else, and in any other circumstances,  is just trash.  It's probably just a broken cup or something.  A storm came, or the ship hits some rocks, the ship sank, people probably died, and now it's just chilling on the bottom on the ocean as so much pollution.  But it doesn't end there.  It's picked up by the current and sloshed around for a long, long time, it changes color, it's edges are smoothed, it's shine is taken away, until one day it washes up on the shore.  Someone picks it up, finds it valuable, and makes it into a necklace that is sold.  It's been recycled, it practically gets another life.

Ok, ok, so maybe I had too much time on my hands that day and over thought this whole thing.  But maybe I didn't.  And the whole thing just kinda reminded me of the how God works.  He takes something broken, created out of a tragedy, and smooths it out and turns it into something beautiful.  Technically, it's still just a piece of broken glass but it has worth because the One who holds it thinks it's valuable.  It takes a long time of being tumbled around, but eventually every shard is transformed, until it no longer resembles what it was.

And that's why I love sea glass now, it's just a quiet obsession that I have.  I know I wasn't over thinking because it stills rings true with me, and I think about it every time I look at the sea glass I bought from that lady.  And I think about it when I feel like I'm being tumbled around, or broken, or irritated.  I'm really just a piece of sea glass that God is in the process of making.