Last week, my family spent time at Holden Beach on the coast of North Carolina.

Last year was our first trip to Holden as a family. For the last decade or so, we have typically rented condos at North Myrtle Beach and once at Topsail. Since our Dobie girl Fiona came into our family, we are now dog-friendly home renters when it comes to our beach vacations! 

One thing we discovered last year about Holden Beach that we loved are the shells. We came home with so many giant shells that now sit in clear vases in our home. They are pretty amazing. We looked forward to finding new shells this year at Holden, only to find this: 

I can't say for sure why a single in tact shell was not to be seen. You could walk a mile and not find a beautiful shell. Instead, what covered the beach were broken pieces. I have always thought that brokenness is beautiful because it is only in our brokenness that we fully understand our need for help, support, love and grace. God says He is near to the "broken" hearted. There was something rather beautiful about the broken shells that covered the sand. 

We missed being able to take a piece of the beach home with us this year. Maybe God wanted to show us something different instead. Something that's just as beautiful, if we look at it from a heavenly point of view. Each piece of shell is part of a whole. There was a time when they were whole and beautiful. They will never be put back together again in the way they were, but when all of the pieces are together in the sand, a new kind of artwork is displayed. 

Blessings,