My wife and I were enjoying a leisurely boat ride on a nearby
river one sunny summer afternoon. Of course, I told my wife it would be
leisurely, but we both know I’m always on the hunt for something.
The sun was high in the sky causing every ripple in the water
to sparkle like thousands of stars. We were heading north upstream when we
noticed two bald eagles overhead. The eagles were soaring back and forth from
one bank of the river to the other. Every so often a gust of wind would lift
the eagles higher towards the sun and then they would swoop back down
continuing to the hunt for an afternoon meal.
Eventually, we motored past the eagles to a narrower part of
the river. This was a place that seemed more conducive for the prey I was after.
As we continued upstream, the perfect location appeared like an oasis in the desert.
It was a bank of the river that was a mixture of sand and rocks that were
undisturbed by humans. I told my wife we were going to beach the boat on the
bank so I could walk around and stretch my legs. The boat softly pierced its
way through the sand and finally came to rest on the bank. I jumped out of the
boat, grabbed the anchor rope and tethered it to a large downed tree. My wife
put her feet up on the edge of the boat and started to soak up the sun.
Walking the bank with the sun shining over my shoulder, I
scanned the sand and rocks looking for any sign of something sparkling back at
me. After several minutes a sparkle appeared, and it was exactly what I was
looking for…a deep red, raisin sized agate. It was small, but it was precisely
what I was on the hunt for this day. The rest of my stroll was uneventful, so I
wandered back to my wife and the boat. As I approached the boat, something
caught my eye; it wasn’t a sparkle, but more of a glow. The object was
different than any other stones around it. I bent over to pick up the nickel
sized object, but it didn’t budge. I started brushing the sand away from around
it and kept brushing the sand away until eventually the object was unearthed. It
was the shape of a rounded pyramid and the size of a softball…it was a chalcedony
agate! To this day, it has been my most captivating find, mostly because I had
to keep digging to see what lay underneath.
A friend reminded me lately that a blog about agates was in order.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under
trail. for when he stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God
has promised to those who love him.
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