Strawberry Quartz

 

The guidance and compassion of the Lord is sweet.

     Strawberry quartz is a smooth, pale red to cherry colored crystal, usually colored by fine-grained red hematite inclusions. In the late 19th century it was called scarlet quartz, specifically when found in Iron mines in Cumberland, England. When smelted together with cinnabar, strawberry quartz can be made into cherry quartz- this is only ever a man-made effect. 

     As I talked about in my post on rose quartz, pink is considered a color of love; similarly, the hues of strawberry quartz, a medley of pink and red, makes me think of sweetness and compassion. The color and name of the stone conjure images and flavors of fruit in our minds, sweet and bright tastes, vibrant colors, the red on the outside of a strawberry fading to pink and then white in the middle.

"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

 Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Psalm 4

     What could be sweeter than grace and forgiveness? The compassion of the Lord is never ending, and He tends to His followers with rightness and love, saving us from the plots of darkness. His sweetness fills us with joy more than anything we do for ourselves; He gives us satisfaction greater than any fruit on earth can. Psalm 34:8-10 says, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." When we are distraught, the Lord guides us; when we are mourning, the Lord comforts us; when we ache in our souls, He holds us close to His chest and heals us. This great love is beyond words- how could we not worship our great God? He has proved time and time again through His love for us that He is deserving of our love.

     "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." 

Psalm 17:8

     To live in the Lord is to love in love, and to know His sweetness is to be held close by Him and guarded from darkness forever. The Great Lord truly loves and cherishes His loyal followers.

     “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil."

Matthew 12:33-35

     As we live in the sweetness of the Lord, we live in goodness, because He is good. These verses tell us that the things we make in life and our legacy cannot be of holiness and goodness unless we ourselves are not good. It is important to also note that on our own, by our own power, we can never achieve holiness; God alone is holy and we only can be holy through Him. No one evil can create good things, and no one on the side of good can produce evil things. If we are trees, then we can only produce fruit of the type of tree that we are, unless we change our whole tree into another type.

     "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

Galatians 5:22-26

     These fruits, the Lord tells us, are the telltale signs of a true follower of Him. Every believer should live in love, joy, and all of the others, because being faithful to the Lord automatically results in these traits appearing in our lives. Praying and meditating on the sweetness and compassion of the Lord daily will bring this sweetness into your life, as well as the tender, loving care of the King of Love.