Wednesday, September 3, 2008

E.W.W. ~ Jesus on the Beach...

Hard to believe that another week has gone by and now it is Wednesday, again. For those of you who follow Rhonda at her beautiful blog-home, Scooterblu's Whimsy, you know what this day of the week means! Each Wednesday, Rhonda shares some much needed Encouraging Words. I always come away from her E.W.W. posts with a warm heart and a renewed faith in our Father. I know Rhonda would want me to extend an invitation to everyone to please stop by and visit with her. Also, she would be happy to have y'all join in on E.W.W. as the Lord guides you.


By now you must be shaking your heads a wee bit, possibly a puzzled look on your face as you see the photo of my teeny tiny hat box. What on Earth do lipstick, nail polish, and Divine Glamour have to do with God?! Please stick with me as I attempt to explain! Remember to click on the photos so you can enjoy the details better...


I love Vintage embroidery and needlework, and the few photos I take are usually showcased on one of the Vintage pieces from my collection.

I also have a small collection of hat boxes in assorted sizes, colors, and designs. They are so fun to store things in. And, of course, I love PINK! No surprise there, eh?! And what girlie~girl doesn't like Divine Glamour? So, you see... I just had to own this special lil container.

Inside are some beautiful treasures from the days that I lived on the Beach, on the Florida coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. Sand Dollars and Sea Urchins.

I have them carefully tucked away in my lil hat box. Sometimes I take them out and just look at them.

Aren't the Sea Urchins a stunning shade of Pink?

Ahhh.... Divine Glamour, indeed!

Over the many years of walking on the pure white sugar sands of my beloved Beach, I picked up all of these. None were purchased.

I think they are breathtaking gifts from God. I shall forever treasure these.

But where are my encouraging words? Thanks for sticking with me this far. I hope you will find that in doing so, your time has been well spent. I want to let you all know that one of the many places Jesus lives is on the Beach. He is all over it, actually. Each breeze that caresses my face is His kiss. The sounds of the waves lapping at the sand is the beating of His heart.

God gives us a gift... a reminder, if you will, of the great love He has for us. The love He gave to us by allowing His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us. God gave us the Sand Dollar. It is sometimes called The Holy Ghost Shell. It is characterized by five narrow openings representing the four nail holes and the wound in the crucified body of Christ. On the top side of the shell the outline of the Easter Lily is clearly seen. On the bottom is an outline of the Poinsettia, the Christmas flower. Close examination reveals the tiny five pointed star of Bethlehem at the center. When the shell is broken open five small replicas of doves will be found.

There are several versions of The Sand Dollar Legend. I want to share some of them with you. At the bottom of this post, there is a picture showing you what the teeny lil Doves of Peace look like. Please forgive me, but I simply could not bring myself to break open one of my sand dollars to expose the lil doves for a photo. I have, however, done so in the past, and it is an amazingly humbling experience. They are so small and delicate and beautiful.


The Legend of the Sand Dollar

There's a pretty little legend
That I would like to tell
Of the birth and death of Jesus
Found in this lovely shell.

If you examine closely,
You'll see that you find here
Four nail holes and a fifth one
Made by a Roman's spear.

On one side the Easter lily,
Its center is the star
That appeared unto the shepherds
And led them from afar.

The Christmas poinsettia,
Etched on the other side
Reminds us of His birthday,
Our happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open,
And here you will release
The five white Doves awaiting
To spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me
To help us spread His Gospel
Through all eternity.

~ Author Unknown ~



The Legend of The Holy Ghost Shell

Upon this odd-shaped sea shell
A legend grand is told
About the life of Jesus
The wondrous tale of old

The center marking plainly shows
The well known Guiding Star
That led to tiny Bethlehem
The Wise Men from afar

The Christmas flower, Poinsettia
For His Nativity
The Resurrection too is marked
The Easter Lily, see?

Five wounds were suffered by our Lord
From nails and Roman's spear
When He died for us on the cross
The wounds show plainly here

Within the shell, should it be broke,
Five Doves of Peace are found
To emphasize this legend
So may Love and Peace abound

~ Author Unknown ~

Now you know why my sand dollars mean so much to me. I hope and pray that these legends touched your heart in some way. It gives me encouragement and great peace each time I hold one. I think it is such a beautiful way for God to visibly remind us of His unending love. Thank You, God. Thank You, Jesus.

God bless...

Until another time... Pearl

5 comments:

Scooterblu's Whimsy~Rhonda said...

Pearl, This was a beautiful post! I am amazed that you found the sea urchins on the beach! I've found sand dollars, but never urchins. I love the different ways in which you showed evidence of God and his presence on the beach! I am going to send you an email my SIL sent me...which is where I thought your post was going! Let me know ahead of time, when you are planning to do an EWW post and I will include a link to your blog! :) Thanks for joining in! :) ~Rhonda

Anonymous said...

Hi Pearl,
Wow, that post must have taken you a long time to write. It's incredible. Thank you for sharing.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Deb said...

Hi Pearl, lovely post! How great thy are God. Lovely post!

Tracie~MyPetiteMaison said...

Hi Pearl!
What a lovely post. Your sea urchins are beautiful. I didn't realize there were so many different colors. How nice you collected them all and each one has its own personal story to tell.

I didn't realize you had lived on the beach - what a dream.

Thank you for sharing about the sand dollars, I will have to write each one down - how beautiful of you to share.
xo~Tracie

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

Oh Pearl,
That was so touching and thank you for sharing about the sand dollars and how cool that you have found them on the beach. :) I have a urchins that is a light purple and it's a treasure that we found on a beach. I love the ocean and would love to spend more time on a beach.
Warmly, Deb :)