Gifts from the Sea: An Angel Message

Have you noticed an angel theme building in your life?  This past week the sea has come rushing in, not that I've been down to the shore.  Saturday, at the flea market, an estate vendor was selling a large glass bowl of seashells: Sand dollars, starfish, angel wings, purple scallops, and coral. I was thankful I caught a wave at a give-away price of $5.  

 

At home, each shell was gently arranged in a decorative bowl on the porch table. The various shells brought back my own early sunrise walks collecting shells many years ago.   

When I grabbed my reference book to look up this unusual shell, I had to laugh.  It's called a Turkey Wing.  How perfect is that?  Yes, I am grateful for the abundance of gifts from the sea, and for the soul who combed the sands to find them.

 

But, there was more... 

 

Inside the reference picture book, I found a long-forgotten postcard. A sunflower with a comforting message of hope and faith during these trying times. 

 

"For I know the plans I have for you," 

declares the Lord, 

"plans to prosper you and 

not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."  (Jeremiah 29:11)

 In the afternoon, a trip to the library answered the call to the sea again.  I found Anne Morrow Lindbergh's soulful book, Gift from the Sea, for sale at the Bird Nest bookstore. 

 

I recall a time when a very large shell bubbled up in the shallow surf at Virginia Beach.  The answer to a prayer.  Elliot and I had financial issues.  Walking the beach, I asked God if He loved me, to let me find a whole whelk shell.  Not one fractured from the pounding surf. 

 

Time passed, and I forgot all about my request.    

Then, one morning, walking in the shallow surf, I stopped to face the horizon.  A powerful wave rushed in, and quickly receded, revealing a sandy floor.    

I looked down at my feet, the watery sand bubbled.  Out popped the tip of a large whelk shell.  "Thank you, Holy Spirit!" I laughed, holding the biggest whelk shell I'd seen. Perfectly whole, with a glossy inner glow, in spite of a blackened exterior.  

But, there was more to come... 

 

A short distance beyond, another fast-moving wave bubbled up the wet sand at my feet. Another big whelk shell,  almost a twin to the first.  Both big and dark from being buried so long. Yet the inner shells were untouched by any outer pressures. 

 

My heart was so grateful as I walked home with the double for your trouble blessing.  One for me and one for Elliot.

 

Whatever you may be dealing with today, please know that you are not alone.  You are dearly loved and treasured by God who never has stopped loving you.  All things are possible with God. 

When you hold a seashell close to your ear, and listen... The soft sound of the surf comes rushing in,  stirring memories of home.  Although the shell appears to be vacant, the Spirit within is eternal. 
 

Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Love and blessings,


Rae Karen