Diamond in the Rough
By Sheila Martinez

It was Monday, January 17th, my son's 22nd birthday. Being that it was Martin Luther King Day, I was home and busy planning the birthday celebration for J.R. Cleaning was on the list of necessary chores that needed to be done. During the cleaning process, I shoved the sofa out of the way and dropped to my knees to dust the bottom of the end table. As I began to move the cloth over the table I paused to pick up the small odds and ends that had found their way between the table and the sofa. Now mind you, this is something I have done many times in the last year, dusting and vacuuming, nothing to be considered special - except for one specific moment, at a specific time, in that exact place...

As I began to pick up the small items between the furniture my hand grazed something hard. As I focused on the spot, I thought it was a shard of glass or a broken piece of hard plastic. But as I looked at it, I could feel my heart begin to pound as total astonishment overwhelmed me. In my hand was my lost diamond!

You see, over a year ago I lost the diamond out of my 25th anniversary wedding set Marty had given to me to mark the milestone in our life. It was very distressing to me that I had lost the stone out of this special set.
Everyone at home and at work had helped me scour the areas where it could have fallen, to see if - by some miracle, the stone could be located.
Several of my co-workers continually said to not give up, that the stone would be found. It turns out, as the word says, out of the mouth confession is made unto salvation -- even salvation for difficult situations! They truly spoke confidence to me, even as dismay tried to fill my heart.

And, I think you know that I did ask the Lord for His help and for grace to not be hopeless in the situation. I asked for peace and decided to not give up hope. I came to just trust that all would be well, even when I was overcome with the feelings of sadness. The Lord has never failed to help me in the past and I knew He would not leave me now - even if the stone were never found.

It seemed almost impossible to accept that this thing in my hand was my stone! Was it really sitting in my hand? Was it really my diamond, the one I had lost? You see, the stone was dull and covered with a film and it looked pretty sad. But the shape... the shape of my diamond was not a common one. And the shape of this thing in my hand was just right. What else could it be? As I looked again, one more time I was beginning to feel the joy of laughter and at the same time tears of overwhelming relief and wonder rising up inside, almost choking me, as the doubt of what was in my hand became a factual reality!

To fully satisfy myself of the absolute truth of this thing, I ran to my room to pull out my setting to really see if what I had was absolute. And as I laid the stone onto the setting it fell right into the specially-shaped space, as if to release a sigh of relief that it had found it¹s way home.

What can I say to express the feeling? Laughter, crying, astonishment, amazement... all apply. I took the set to the dressing area and begin to clean the film off - removing the dullness from the stone ­ removing the grime that hid the brilliance, the shine.

Had my journey been the same? I realized that because of the things my family had gone through since our 25th year (a space of nine additional years) I had been covered by a dull film of discouragement. The wearing things, the grind things ­ the change of seasons in our marriage, bringing unexpected storms, some with hurricane force - the teenage trauma time, the loss of a career, seemingly unending financial strain, on and on, had all caused my sight to dim.

My joy in having my family to love and care for, my counting the precious things as precious, had been overlooked. As I looked at this restored stone and watched the sparkle return, it was as if I was being asked, "Can you now remember the blessings instead of the struggle? Will you now begin to see the many things that you have been given in your life - and could easily lose - as precious indeed?"

I definitely found my diamond that day... my diamond in the rough places of life. Restored to a place of joy, I do see even more abundantly the preciousness of all that I have been given in this life.

And I do laugh with joy! I delight in the renewal of this once lost, but now found, jewel of great price.

I hope as you read this account that you will find that the Lord is good in your life - and His mercy is unto all generations. Even to the end of hope - where we can find the hope that extends beyond our natural hope, right into the hope that is within the heart of God.

Abraham hoped beyond hope.

So can we. It resides inside, one step beyond our own ability, right
where God's hope can find a place to dwell in our life. Right in the midst
of the place where you find the diamond in the rough.

I invite you to rejoice with me, as we seek to really see the blessings that are ours, even unto all that believe ­ to you and to your children's children forever and ever! Amen!

If you would like to comment on this article, please send an email to:sheila@vine3.org