When the winter swells kiss the shores of our Central Coast, the tides push boulders, driftwood, and even large fallen trees upon summer’s once sandy and smooth beaches. This can make our hikes into remote surf spots challenging and treacherous. I can’t count the number of times I slipped on rocks and nearly broke my ankles.
On my winter beach walks, as I gingerly trek over trees, branches, boulders, and large stones, sometimes I find something unexpected. Rarely, every now and then, I find a treasure on the shore. One day, on a walk at Moonstone Beach in the sleepy beach town of Cambria, a glistening pink and purple abalone shell appeared, lodged between a piece of driftwood and a granite boulder.
We all know the destruction the storms of life and nature can bring. Just how we can find rare and beautiful treasures on stormy shores, if we look carefully, we can find them amidst the wreckage of the storms we have endured in life. When we face life’s storms, albeit the loss of a loved one, an illness, or an unexpected tragedy, it feels like we’ll never make it out. It seems like our new permanent reality, and we’ll never experience joy again. But once we survive them, if we choose to, we can look back and search for the good things left in its aftermath.
Probably like you, I’ve faced many storms in my life. But in a weird way, when I look back and survey the wreckage they brought, even though I have been tossed and turned and have barely survived, I can find beauty and meaning. The stones, branches, and shells that have been tossed and turned upon the shore no longer resemble their original form, but they are still beautiful. In many ways, they are even more beautiful. The same can be true for us if we allow the storms we face in life to shape us and make us better.
I’m sorry, friend, for the storms you have endured in your life. If you haven’t already, I hope you will find a treasure only the storms you’ve faced could bring. Our trials shape us. But only we can decide if they will make us better or bitter. What storms have you endured in life? What treasures have you discovered that you wouldn’t have if your life were smooth and easy?
