I am breaking from my usual devotional post, today, to share with you a poem that was inspired by the Finding Diamonds in Difficulty devotional.
I walked upon a garden path
Along the roses’ bed
Its fragrant scent drifted by
Mingling with the song inside my head
This seemed to me to be a place
Where diamonds would be found
But alas none appeared to me
Above or beneath the ground
I traveled, next, to a sunny beach
Filled with warm and silky sand
Surely diamonds are here I mused
Scooping bits of shoreline with my hand
The elusive gem did not appear
Though I searched from sun to moon
That diamond must be somewhere close
I’m sure I’ll find it soon
I even searched the forest green
The prairie and the hill
It was not for lack of trying
Or even lack of will
That I could not find that diamond
So mysteriously unseen
I finally stopped and asked the Lord
Is there no diamond meant for me?
He brought me to a mound of dirt
So unattractive in my view
It contained a host of jagged rocks
And coarse sand of blandest hue
There cannot be a diamond here
It’s far too harsh and much too cruel
To believe there is a diamond here
One would think I am a fool
His smile seemed to say He knew
Exactly how I felt
But He said this is where I’d stay
I began to cry, and then I knelt
I prayed that God would help me find
The diamond in this place
I wondered if He still was there
If again I’d see His face
The days were long. The work was hard
I thought it’d never end
Was there something I’d done wrong?
Was there something I had to mend?
I realized, then, the tools I needed
He had given me
To find the diamond in my life
This is where I had to be
At last I saw a tiny spark
I worked harder to dig deep
The glint then grew to a brighter glow
Underneath the dusty heap
I praised Him when I realized
He brought me to this place
So I could learn to trust Him
And grow stronger through His grace
You see it wasn’t just a diamond
That God had meant for me
Indeed it was a treasure trove
Found through difficulty
Thank You, Colleen, so much for both expressing and sharing this concept.
There is so much validation and illumination. I am grateful to travel through my own darkness to the Light. Loved the inspiration of embracing imperfection and error as a morphing process.
In appreciation, Mary Mackey
San Diego CA