A Rock or Treasure?

Yesterday we took the boys to Elijah Mountain Gem Mine. Its always fun for them to find treasures hidden in the dirt. I'm always amazed by the thought that these precious gemstones will be building materials in Heaven! As we dug through the bucket of dirt and found many beautiful gems, Dylan came across a very large rock, or so he thought. He was actually pretty disappointed by it because he thought it was so dull and ugly. Little did he know that this "rock" was really a geode. 

"What's a geode?" you ask. I love rocksandminerals4u.com's definition which says, "Geodes are like the Tootsie Roll Pop of the geology world because underneath the hard exterior lies a surprise center!" 

The man who helped us with all of our gemstones was excited about the geode we found. He put it in his handy geode cracker and cut that badboy in half! And guess what, we were  shocked to see millions of little crystals inside!!! He told us that he has cracked hundreds of geodes and no two have ever been the same. What an amazing find!!

These pictures do NOT do it justice!!
 The crystals are shiny, sparkly, and just plain gorgeous!

The boys are so thrilled with their treasure!

I have been thinking about this "rock" all night last night and all day today. There is so much to be learned from the geode! At first glance, this ugly thing looks like it has no value. It is dirty and hard and big and just not pretty at all. But that's the outer layer. What's important is the inside. The inside is a completely different story. It is gorgeous! Shiny! Sparkly! Full of beauty and so valuable! God wants me to learn a great deal from this geode. In fact, I'm thinking of putting it my prayer closet so I can hear more from God about this mysterious treasure. How amazing that He would make this, for us to find! He is so intentional with all of His creations!

Today I am grateful for the geode. I mean really y'all, this is an ugly brown rock but when we stop focusing on the external and spend a moment looking at the internal, we see something entirely different. It reminds me of 1 Peter 3:4 which says, "Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." The internal is what is important in our lives as well.  The hidden person within us is what truly matters. I need this reminder daily. When thinking of myself but also, when considering others. Who God created us to be, the hidden person within us, is what He sees and I pray it would be what I see as well. 

I may share more about the geode in the weeks to come because honestly, it completely amazes me! With God, even what looks like an old rock is a treasure!