Trash to Treasure

There’s an interesting piece of real estate in California called the Glass Beach. Fort Bragg has been around a while, right on the Pacific Coast. Beginning at least in 1906 through 1967, they did what many towns did. They dumped their trash in a convenient location - the ocean. They were dumping so much out there that sometimes they had to burn it to keep it from blocking the view (I guess). But for 61 years, they had merrily dumped everything they could think of - from household trash to automobiles, including a LOT of glass bottles.
Then the wind and tide got to work.
One day, someone went down to the “Old Dump” to look around, and they noticed that the ‘sand’ on the beach was...colorful. And it still is. It somehow at the same time looks both man-made and natural.
Now my expectation when I first heard of Glass Beach is that it would be much more enjoyable from a safe distance. (I’ve been wrong about other things, too.) One of the pictures I found showed a person walking the beach bare-footed. Sans sandals. Naked toes! Apparently, time and tides not only “...wait for no man.”, they don’t waste their time idly either. They work, tumbling, polishing, shaping, transforming.
Made me think about the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. When they crossed the Red Sea leaving the broken remnants of Pharoah’s mighty army sinking out of sight, they were FREE. After 400 years of slavery, their chains were gone!
At least, the ones they could see.
But they had been dramatically warped by their slavery. Why else would they whine about going back to Egypt every other day? They had a lot of trashy thinking to get over, and it didn’t happen over night. 40 years of wilderness wandering was what it took to transform them from a rag-tag gaggle of discarded junk into a conquering covenant army.
An interesting tid-bit: somebody estimates that it takes 40 years to turn trash glass into Sea Glass, discards and junk into highly collectible treasures. There’s sea glass jewelry, an online magazine, a festival, and lots and lots of collectors that see the beauty and value in what once shared space with old coffee grounds and used diapers.
So the next time you’re wondering why it’s taking so long to get really free from the sins and failures of your past, remember Glass Beach. You didn't get where you were overnight, odds are you won't get over it overnight either. The transformation may take time -and trials - to get there, but it will be beautiful.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Cor. 4:8-10

Cross of Glass

At first, I noticed the colors. White, green, blue, yellow red, orange - even a little pink. They were all shapes and sizes. And then I saw that they were shards of glass, just pieces that had been chosen, sanded a little, and then carefully fit together in the shape of a Cross.
Brokenness made Beautiful.
Our lives, our heart’s desires get broken, shattered into a million pieces by any number of things. Cancer. Divorce. Death. Dementia. Autism. War. Accidents. Sin.
I don’t know what broke you, but I know you’ve been broken. We all have, because that’s what happens to fragile things in this fallen and dangerous world.
When Jesus saw the damages of sin, He didn’t despair. He chose to do something about it.
The Cross.
Those who come to Him with their broken bits of life find Him carefully arranging and fitting them together beautifully, skillfully, Masterfully.
There are some - not me - who hold to Chaos Theory, that order eventually comes out of chaos without an Artist. My experience has been in the opposite direction. Order degenerates into chaos, and left to itself, chaos just increases.
In this life, Chaos is only brought to Order by the Master, and He only does it through the Cross.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. 1Cor 1:18