Wednesday, August 31, 2011

seashell grooves

sometimes i wonder why God gave seashells little grooves on top and on the sides.

they're so beautiful as it is.

why put the bumps? 

the rough spots

the little cracks 

that could be counted as blemishes to their delicate grace?

and then i wonder as i'm asked to


link up a post, old or new, that you feel is broken or imperfect.


why my broken pieces? why my flawed canvas?

don't you want to see what i can do? what good things i have in my treasure chest?

and then i take a look through my little wooden box, the same way an innocent child seeks to find something precious to share with daddy.

but to my shame i realize that i'm all broken.

via pintrest
every last one of my treasures are cracked, or broken, or riddled with flaws of this and that.

and i hold up my nothings like a disappointed child to whomever may still love me.

and my Daddy picks it up. exclaiming over it as though i have some long-forgotten riches that the world has sought for centuries

and then i see.

i see it well.

this broken treasure is all He wants. because it's all i have.

and i am His child. and like a loving Father, He delights in what i have. in what i can do. in those little things to which He leads me day after day.

if He demanded my perfection

i'd be lost.

perfection is not what He asks for....

...He asks for my imperfect prose. 

He asks for my grooves. 



linking up with emily at imperfect prose
also featured at heather's beautiful corner of raining silence

11 comments:

  1. Your prose isn't so imperfect... :)

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  2. P.S. Sometimes I leave your blog up just to listen to your music selections... ;)

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  3. ah, this was sweet and beautiful. and it is in our brokenness that we are our most useful and lovely, are we not? it is then that we are aware. able to see.
    i love it here every time i happen along. your writing is soul-touching. . . both when you think you've gotten it just right, and when you think it's only broken and imperfect. don't ever quit.

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  4. Your words always bring me into worshiping. How do you do it friend?! You truly are a talented writer!

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  5. This is a super lovely post, Rachel! I'm so glad I found your blog today!

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  6. " e asks for my grooves"...beautiful and so true!

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  7. I am a seashell girl. I could spend hours searching them out on the shore. The broken ones always tell a story, I think...they make me look deeper at their beauty.

    Such a lovely reflection. Thank you for linking up to Playdates this week. Such a blessing.

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  8. thankful that he delights in what we have...and no matter how broken and flawed makes it beautiful...

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  9. That's so beautiful!! I think this is spectacular :))
    -Jocee <3

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  10. "He asks for my grooves." This is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you.

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  11. ahhh, yes, friend. this is it. this is grace. a beautiful write, dear rachel. xo

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I look at you and see all the ways a soul can bruise, and I wish I could sink my hands into your flesh and light lanterns along your spine so you know there's nothing but light when I see you. :: Shinji Moon