And, Yes, There are Diamonds

One night a group of desert nomads had gone to unroll their sleeping mats in preparation for the night, when suddenly they were surrounded by a tall, emblazoned great whilte light. They gasped. knowing that they were in the presence of some celestial being. With anticipation they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must have been made especially for them.

Finally, the light spoke. “Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle bags. Tomorrow will find you glad, but it will also find you sad.”

After having departed, the nomads shared their disappointment with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great universal truth that would enable them to create wealth, health and purpose for the world. But instead they were given the menial task that made no sense to them at all. However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in their saddlebags.

They smiled at their stupidity but prepared for sleep. They woke the next morning and while breaking up their camp to continue on their journey, they reached into their saddlebags and discovered that every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond. They were glad they had diamonds; they were sad that they had not gathered more pebbles.

I love this story. It has been my go-to, first day of school opening for every class I have ever taught. I used to link it to learning with the pebbles being nuggets of knowledge that I hoped each student would gather during our time together. But today, I share it with you because it’s a fine philosophical view of life. Experience all that you can while you are here on God’s green earth. Moments, even the challenging ones, may seem like pebbles, but someday you will see their value. Embrace every opportunity that comes to you. Like those sparkling gems, this life is precious. So precious.

I have taken the vile pills, stickered up with potent badges, spent time in constant prayer and watched the world past by through my own very cloudy rose colored glasses. He, above all, knows the answer to my demise question. I try to be patient.

The day before the 4th of July, I got to start my journey to year 7, I celebrate God's godness and my strong ability to keep on tighting. My optimism isn’t as large as it once was, but my faith has multiplied many times over. Now, I can only imagine it's beauty.

I am as ready as I will ever be to walk those golden heavenly streets.

It is a different set of acceptance; one I must remind myself of. A Glorious one!

And yes, until then, I wait.

.