Have you ever received a love letter from God? Has there been a moment when you have sensed God’s delight in you or when you have enjoyed a precious gift of His creation that brought you joy? I have! Lettered olives are my favorite shell. I am fascinated by their unique shape, their glossy shine and how smooth that shell feels in my hand. Beachcombing for shells is a treat, a treasure hunt, and finding a lettered olive is the golden egg!
On my 50th birthday, Jerry and I took our bikes to spend the day at lovely Hunting Island. Riding to the far end of the island, I found God’s birthday present to me! There, lying in the sand, were dozens of beautiful lettered olives. What a treasure trove…a symbol of God’s love and the abundance He had for me as I celebrated this special 50th year of jubilee!
Recently, we returned to Hunting Island State Park. We climbed the lighthouse for gorgeous views across the sound. Then, we strolled the beach searching for shells. Recalling my past experience there, I was sure I would find a few lettered olives. I diligently searched the sand, but to my amazement and disappointment, not a single lettered olive was found. Not one! This made me appreciate my 50th birthday gift from God even more.
The next day, Jerry and I took a bike ride to the boardwalk leading to the north end of Seabrook Island. Before embarking on our walk up the beach, nature called and I headed to the porta john. Glancing down at the ground beside the facility, I noticed a lettered olive half-hidden in the sand. Perfectly intact, the usual tan coloration of the shell had been buffed to a shiny, smooth white surface.
“How odd!” I thought. Yesterday I spent all that time searching for a lettered olive, and here in this most unexpected place, I find one yards from the shore, next to a stinky porta john. Not exactly a special memory of a beautiful place to save with the shell. However, it was a stunning shell so, after brushing off the dirt, I stuck it in my pocket…where it remained forgotten in the events that followed.
Within the hour, I had received a devastating phone call. I had left my cell phone at home so my mother called Jerry. He answered it on speaker phone and I heard my mom ask, “Can Jenni hear this?” When Jerry replied that I could, my mom asked that he take the phone off speaker mode. When I heard that, I walked away. I knew that something awful had happened as my mother would never ask to exclude me from a conversation unless she thought it was something I couldn’t bear. I walked up the beach alone as Jerry spoke to my mom. I knelt in the sand, praying for God’s strength and grace to sustain me for the news I would soon be hearing.
Jerry called me back. Crying and holding me in his arms, he told me the news. My younger brother, Hawk, had shot and killed himself. A bomb went off in my heart, but God held the pieces in His hand. Somehow, I was able to walk through the coming days of grief with His grace and the prayers of friends and family.
Returning home three weeks after attending the funeral and helping my mother in Florida, I noticed the white lettered olive sitting on my closet shelf. Picking it up, I remembered the unlikely, ugly place in which I had found this gift of beauty. I realized God had given me a symbol of hope moments before I was to enter one of the darkest times of my life. For like this shell, in the devastating aftermath of my brother’s death, I found gifts of God’s grace to our family. There were many, but here is just one incident.
My youngest brother, Max, had made flight arrangements to arrive the day of the funeral. A couple of days before this, he drove to make a sales presentation to a bank in Kentucky. After the presentation, he was headed back home to Atlanta to get ready for the trip to the Orlando, Florida funeral. However, as Max drove his Mercedes along the curvy, mountain roads, his tire suddenly came apart. Though traveling at a high speed, Max was able to successfully maneuver the car to a stop and emerged unharmed. His Mercedes has “run-flat” tires which enable the tire to keep running in the event of a puncture but were not designed for this split. The tire needed to be replaced. That is when Max discovered that he did not have a spare tire.
Unfortunately, the local auto shops did not stock this tire and it would have to be ordered. Because of this, Max had an unexpected overnight stay in an area hotel while he waited to see if the tire would be delivered the next day. His busy schedule was put on hold. So, that evening, Max tore off sheets of hotel stationary and began to scribble memories of his brother, Hawk. Twenty-four pages later, Max had created a gift which he would later share with us. Memories he had of his hero brother, Hawk, that revealed aspects of both my brothers that were new and dear to me. A flat tire…an unlikely and precious gift from God!
The lesson of the lettered olive is this…look for God’s gifts of grace in the unexpected, stinky places of your life. Expect Him to show up because He declares that He will. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be discouraged or afraid! The Lord, Your God, is with you wherever you go and whatever you experience.
