Gemstones

Thirty-five years ago this summer Jim and I were planning our wedding.  We were picking out gray suits for the groomsmen.  I was sewing coral bridemaids' dresses and men's ties to match.  Our friends and neighbors were growing and arranging the bridal flowers (my bouquet was a wild flower bouquet of Queen Anne's lace, which I love to this day).  And Jim and I went to a gemologist to pick out our wedding rings

Mr. Moyer had a charming jewelry shop in Allentown, Pennsylvania with beautiful display cases and all his jeweler's tools and scopes carefully laid out.  The man was so personable and he told us that this was a second career for him and we could tell that he was in love with his new found path in life.  As Mr. Moyer showed us diamonds and settings he explained that he had travelled to the diamond mines in South Africa to see how the mining process worked.

"Diamonds love dirt," our new friend said.  I smiled.  What a funny thing to blurt out, I thought.

Mr Moyer went on to say, "they mine diamonds in vats of grease.  The ore runs on a conveyor belt through three vats of grease and because they are attracted to dirt they get trapped.  All that to say, if you want your engagement ring to look its best you will have to clean it frequently because your diamond will love dirt."

Relationships love dirt.  They are naturally attracted to conflict, misunderstanding, frustration, anger and selfishness.  To have the best and most fulfilling relationships, they have to be regularly maintained.  In the New Testament book of Ephesians, chapter four it talks of this very thing.  "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."--maintenance.

I have to admit that while I value my relationship with God as though it were a gemstone, it has needed much maintenance lately.  I have experienced misunderstanding (what in the world are you up to, God), frustration, and even anger.  It takes surrender to the knowledge that God is good and only good to keep this gemstone clean.