Carnelian

The Lord shelters and warms my soul.

     Carnelian is molten and fiery in hue, with crystalline gradients and dappled patterns of golden yellow, orange, red and brown. When you shine a light through carnelian, it creates strong orange beams of light, giving an impression of warm, cozy comfort, like resting beside a warm fireplace while a storm rages on outside. Of all the natural colors that agate comes in, this stone is the fiercest and brightest; people will dye banded brown and grey agates in bright colors, but carnelian is naturally made so vibrant.

     If you feel weak and afraid, weathering through a snowstorm with no warmth or light in your soul, there is hope. Holy comfort and healing from the Lord of Hosts is only a step away, if you will open your heart to Him. As humans, we can never be powerful and holy through our own ways; we seek pleasure and warmth that's only momentary, and instantly feel even worse than we did before, because we know deep down that we're doing it wrong and that nothing we do will fill that void in our soul, nothing we do will light our fireplace. Psalm 34 says, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them(4-7)."

     The Lord is the one who shelters us from the storm of our past and our pain and our trauma. He wraps his wings around us completely so that nothing can touch our souls, and he lights the fire in our soul to warm us and give us strength from within. When you feel weak on your own, go to the Lord, because we only have strength through Him, and like a stone that's dark on its own, when he shines through us and our actions, we can share the warmth and light and strength with everyone around us.

     "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!" Psalms 34:8-9

     "For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement." 2 Timothy 1:7