Mining My Own Sparkling Gems
I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places (Isaiah 45:3).
Anne Lamott tells her writing students, “Write what you would like to come upon, because that’s information from your soul that is very alive and attentive.” I ask myself this question: What am I looking for?
I wish to know more about the light that I believe is our very DNA as children of God, and how that plays out in our lives even when it seems hidden from our awareness. This is not only to make sense of my life but to take note of the good I had previously not recognized and mine its treasures. Using gemstones as a metaphor, this book is an exploration of light, literal and symbolic, personal and universal, historic and esoteric. The Bible is my backdrop, a major source of wisdom. The Holy Spirit is my guide and interpreter. The folks and town of Joplin, Missouri are my original family, my tribe. Ambassador College was a way station. The 40 years since then have been my school and my playground.
Beyond my personal resonance with gems, what do sparkling jewels and stones represent in the Bible and in antiquity? Why have kings and kingdoms always sought them? Why do they still speak to us? I’m looking for an explanation of the significance of the stones in the high priest’s breastplate as told in the book of Exodus, and those that make up the foundations of the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation.
In spite of our disappointments in life, I find that there is so much beauty to be noted and savored. To focus on what is good or has become good through a refinement process is a nudge to higher consciousness. Through my seeking of light even in the dark and shadowed moments of my past, I am mining treasures from my own soul.
Symbolically, light is wisdom, and wisdom is Love, a divine harmony. Literally, light is our Source energy, God. This message is reiterated in the New Testament and is called the “glory of our inheritance” by the Apostle Paul. Our heritage is light, and so I seek to mine it from the heights and depths of every experience of my past and present. To mine is to extract something of value from what is considered a rich source of supply, and so the digging below the surface begins.
While I have been drawn to actual gemstones and have learned about their healing properties, there are numerous books that try to relay the unique benefits of the various stones. I have also discovered that there are variations in names throughout history and it is important to know where the stones have been mined, handled, and treated because this affects their purity and clarity. What do they represent for us? All of the stones have a story and they represent glory, goodness and celebration. That is why not only kings and kingdoms but also religions, healers and regular folks have always sought them.
If you track glory through the Bible you find light, power and more definitions of all that God is: life, light, and most of all love. That’s what I am looking for as I examine my past and what speaks to me…what are my own sparkling gems? These hidden treasures uncovered from dark places have become my jewels, oracles and emanations of light.
May you, the reader, be inspired to perceive more of the treasures that light up your own life even in the midst of pain, may you claim your spiritual identity, renew your strength and experience the eternal nature of Love.
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