Opal

Our imperishable inheritance has only one source: the Father.

     One of the most unique and precious gems, opal comes in many, many forms. There are large masses of green or white opaque opal, which aren't considered gems, and deep within these seams is where crystal opal is found, gleaming with light from every angle, rolling in waves or flashes across the surface of the stone. A unique property of opal is that it can perfectly preserve fossils, seeping into wood or shells and filling every part of it, inside and out, so that every cell is preserved long after the wood parts rotted away. The result is petrified wood, formed of ancient trees that were laid to rest in lakes and eternally preserved down to the core.

     I have an opalized ammonite fossil, an ancient shell, that I've been wearing lately on a necklace. Every segment if the shell is preserved in golden brown, filled in with crystals, and some of the layer segments are tiny geodes; all the way down to the tiniest curl of the spiral is perfectly crystallized. Since it's been cut in half, the front shows the inside of the crystal as I've just described, and the back is silvery creamy over all of the rounded shell, with gleaming flashes of green and yellow and red swirling around the curling shape of the shell. 

     I wear this fossil because it reminds me of my own spiritual metamorphosis: two years ago I was fragile and soft, and every knock or blow chipped away at me. But when I experienced the glory and majesty of the King of Kings, my Lord God, and I accepted Him into my heart, He replaced my softwood with gleaming, strong stone, and I was filled with His glory. 

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,

     The world and those who dwell therein,

For he has founded it upon the seas

     And established it upon the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

     And who shall stand in his holy place?

They who have clean hands and a pure heart,

     Who do not lift up their souls to what is false

     And do not swear deceitfully.

They will receive blessing from the Lord

     And righteousness from the God of their salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

     Who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Selah"

Psalm 24:1-6

     When you let the Holy Spirit into your soul, it will fill in every part of you with shining grace, as fast or slow as you let it, until every detail of your life and every inch of your body is filled with glory and purity. My shame and self hatred were replaced with a rainbow of marvelous light; my thoughts of suicide were lifted from my heart by the Lord ad I left my pain and baggage at His feet.

"Lift up your heads, O gates!

     And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

     That the Kind of Glory may come in.

Who is this King of Glory?

     The Lord, strong and mighty,

     The Lord, mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates! 

     And lift them up, O ancient doors,

     That the King of Glory may come in.

Who is this King of Glory?

     The Lord of Hosts,

     He is the King of Glory!"

Psalm 24:7-10