I woke up and looked out the window of the beach house we had rented. Something was compelling me to go out to the seashore. We’d been staying right on the ocean all week, and this was our last full day to be there. Most days that week I had waited until after breakfast before I headed outside. But this day was different. I was drawn to the sacredness of the peaceful water. Shortly after 8 a.m. I rushed out to the edge of the sea, and was amazed at what I saw. I yelled to my mom, who was sitting outside on the deck of the house.
“Mama, come look at this; there are so many seashells!”
It looked like thousands of beautiful seashells on the beach. She walked over to see, and the words spilled off her lips that had already been in my head. “God did this for us.”
Call it a coincidence if you want to. But if you were there, you would’ve agreed with us. It was so obvious that God had pushed these shells to the shore just for us.
We had walked for miles up and down the beach all week. And there were barely any shells around before. That morning it was like the seashells were strategically placed directly in front of where we were staying. I had heard about beaches that were known for having countless seashells, and I had even seen a few of those places. But I’d seen nothing like this before. Instead of being spread out over a large area of beach, they were densely confined to a small area.
I hollered for my husband to come see, and he brought me a bag for collecting the shells I wanted to keep. As I was looking through the shells I heard the Lord’s still, small voice speaking to my heart.
“My Kingdom is like these piles of seashells. There are countless, hidden treasures to be found. Search for them and you will find them.”
While carefully looking amongst these treasures, I found some of the most beautiful, perfect seashells I’ve ever seen. I could have spent hours and hours looking at what seemed like a never-ending supply of shells.
God is amazing. He longs for us to look for His treasures. He’s always waiting for us to open our hearts like a little child would. He wants to fill us with awe and show us His signs and wonders. His Kingdom is a never-ending source of goodness and joy— just like the seashells on the beach that day. His love never ends. We’ll never stop discovering new and fresh signs of His love for us.
“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isaiah 45:3 (NIV)
