While in Michigan, Rachel received a wonderful gift for a 5-year-old-girl who LOVES to play dress up: all of my grandmother's costume jewelry. All her gaudy necklaces and clip-on earrings were Rachel's for the playing. It was a "Kodak moment" as they say, when she saw it. My grandmother did not skimp on dressing up her outfit with accessories, real or not. And Rachel was in costume-jewelry-heaven. Her momentary favorite was a long (fake) gold chain with a seashell attached to the end. In a matter of minutes the seashell fell off, unable to handle Rachel's rigorous "playing".
In the midst of her jewelry-gorge, I noticed a piece that was rather small and seemed out of place. On further inspection, we realized it was no costume jewelry, but the real thing! A gemstone necklace hidden amongst the fake pieces. We (and when I say "we" I don't mean me and Rachel, I mean me and my aunt and my mom) started to slowly comb through the abundance of jewelry and do you know what? We found 4 more pieces of profoundly valuable jewelry. We held in our hands necklaces of significant worth, overlooked by everyone else.
Today, as I'm going through my morning, that picture keeps coming to mind: of us finding those gemstone necklaces, shocked that they were hidden amongst the costume pieces. As we embark on the Bible study of "Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman" this thought keeps repeating itself to me: you, my dear friends, are the precious gemstones, surrounded, and sometimes hidden by the gaudy costume fakes in the world. How do I know? Because you are God's chosen, beloved creation, and He only makes pieces of great worth. Anyone putting their stock in anything but Jesus is just like a piece of costume jewelry. Like Rachel's seashell necklace, the gaudy imitations of this world, focused solely on outward appearances, can not hold up to the pressures of life. Maybe you don't feel like a gemstone. Maybe life has dealt you a hard blow and all you think you have left is a tarnished chain with no clasp. Dear, dear, friend, do not believe the enemy's lies any longer. YOU are God's "living (gem) stones, being built up in Christ". And as Beth Moore mentioned in the Introductory video, God has a destiny for you. While we study how tough it is in our generation to be a woman, let's keep that in mind. Someone today, needs to know that. Is it you?
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