“To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach—waiting for a gift from the sea.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea

Gift from the Sea 

At the water's edge, I wait
lost in the soul of a young girl
who finds quiet joy in the humble treasure that washes in,
a gift of broken glass tumbled smooth from the sea.

Treasure is hard to find today
Sea glass collecting is now declared a national sport at Lake Huron
Earnestly they seek the pretty glass to adorn their home
For me, home is in the gift of the sea 
that smooths the brokenness in me.

I listen quietly to the whisper of the sea, 
reminisce of early morning walks with Dad along the watered line
The smell of fishing boats that lure the sea-gulls cry
anchor my heart’s perfumed memory that lingers still.

One treasure holds my hand, 
the other washes up at my feet that sink into the wet sand
the third, buried deep in the mystery of the sea 
The sea's roar, a paradox gift that instills a calm in me.

Three-in-one treasure freely offered at the line 
that separates the gathering of the sea from the land on which I stand 
A fathers hand, broken glass, and the mystery of the sea 
lulls my soul's chaos into a deep lullaby peace.

A Kairos Genesis moment,
in communion with the three
My tears both weep and worship the treasured gifts 
sacrificed at the water's altar.

The-one-who-gathered-the-sea
 
waits patiently for me to see
that the treasured broken glass smoothed anew
is a holy reminder of the broken one 
who placed his treasured one
deep within the heart of me
that washes my hidden jagged brokenness

His gift from the sea...
Home to me.

“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called the Seas: and God saw that it was good” – Genesis 1:9-10

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21