Friday, December 14, 2018

KEEP DIGGING

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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