As a child, my favorite vacations were trips to the beach when I could look for shells. I thought of that this past week when my friend, Kathy Hawkins, showed me some of her collection of shells and other sea creatures. Hers is a massive collection, and she knows the history of each one.
Kathy’s favorite is the sand dollar because legend reports that it tells the story of the birth, life, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the front is the outline of an Easter Lily. In the center is a star, representing the one that led the wise men from afar. On the back is the outline of a Christmas poinsettia.
Nell MohneyAccording to legend, four of the pores on the front represent the nails put into the hands and feet of Jesus on the cross. The fifth one, a long pore, is from a Roman spear.
Most important, though, is what happens when the sand dollar is broken open and five white doves tumble out. According to the legend, the doves represent love, peace, joy, hope and forgiveness of the Christian faith. Kathy demonstrated that, even in a small sand dollar, the doves, though very minute, are still there.
It occurred to me that all of us experience brokenness at times. It can be physical, mental, spiritual or even all at once.
It was Ernest Hemingway who wrote: “The world breaks everyone, but some grow strong in the broken places.” The Christian doves are there for the asking, but we have to release them in order to grow strong in our broken places.
Once in a gift shop, the owner showed us a porcelain vase that had been dropped and broken, but repaired. If dropped again, it would likely not be broken in the repaired part, which was obviously stronger than the rest of the vase.
Kathy gave me a beautifully bleached sand dollar as a reminder that, with Christian faith, our brokenness does not have to be permanent. Instead, we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the joys of our Christmastide.
Contact Nell Mohney at nellwmohney@comcast.net.