Testing Amber

       Amber is a hard, transparent, yellowish-brown substance formed in ancient times from resin. It is used to make beautiful jewelry, and especially prized if an intact insect or leaf was caught in it during the fossilization process. I found some beautiful examples at an estate sale not long ago and purchased several necklaces and pendants. Recently I listed a piece in an online auction.

Amber bead necklace with 14K gold clasp

     A potential buyer asked if it had been tested for authenticity. On their instruction I proceeded with a series of tests:

• Tear some small pieces off a newspaper, then gently rub the amber on a natural fiber, such as cotton. The amber will be statically charged and pick up the small bits of newspaper.
• Dissolve 2 1/2 Tablespoons of salt in a cup of water, amber will float, other materials will drop to the bottom.
• Place a drop of acetone on the amber. It will wipe off with no effect if it is real, plastic will feel tacky to the touch.

     The piece came through the test with flying colors! It was real amber. A satisfied buyer purchased the piece with confidence.

     I was a little anxious about testing the amber. I wouldn't normally put a piece of jewelry in salt water, or drop nail polish remover (acetone) on a precious bead. But the testing was necessary if I wanted to know with confidence that the thing was real.

     Which helps me make sense of the trials that come into my life.

      In the New Testament book of James it tells me that I should, "...count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4) 

     How could I know for sure if the amber was real without testing it? I couldn't. 

     The testing of my faith may not be something I want to experience, but the end results - patience, and a completeness, are something precious. Real and not fake, a treasure much better than the amber!

"That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."   1 Peter 1:7

     

     

Sapphire Floors

     I rarely find gemstones when I'm treasure hunting. Possibly, it's because the green of an emerald, red of a ruby and deep blue of a sapphire are recognized as something valuable. Many times these gems are mounted in gold, making them even more precious, though I once found rubies mounted in a sterling silver band! 

     The rich colors of these gems are so well known that I can describe a rhinestone, an imitation in glass, by their colors. 

Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire Rhinestone Necklace and Earrings Set in Gold Plate with Clear Rhinestone Accents!

     Sapphires can be found in an array of colors, but the best loved is a deep, velvety blue.  High quality stones in this color are extremely rare, mined in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Burma. In May of 2013 a world record $175,000 per carat was achieved when a sapphire ring was auctioned for more than 3.4 million dollars. 

     So, imagine my surprise when I was reading Exodus 24:10 in my Bible , and was given this description,  "...and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity."

     A gemstone that we treasure, and would pay a great sum to wear as a ring or necklace, under God's feet! Which makes me wonder, if sapphire is a building material in Heaven, what must that place be like? 

     Perhaps that is why Paul wrote to the Corinthians that "...Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  God, has made a beautiful place for us to spend eternity. A place we can look forward to. Where Jesus went to, "...prepare a place for you." 

     And if I can value a beautiful blue sapphire, shouldn't I desire even more the place God has prepared, where earth's treasures are just something to be walked on? 

     How do I find this treasure? Not at an estate sale! Not by listening to what people "think" might be the way. I go to God's Word, and find Jesus telling me that He is, "...the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

     The only way to God - through Jesus!

"Lord, You are more precious than silver. 

Lord, You are more costly than gold. 

Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds

And nothing I desire compares with You."

                                    Lynn DeShazo - More Precious Than Silver

     

     

     

     

     

Grandmother's Jewelry Box

     My grandmother raised five children during the Great Depression and World War II years. She worked long hours at a button factory, sewed the children's clothing and made meals using her garden's vegetables and chickens she raised. A woman with little time and less money, nonetheless she owned a tiny jewelry box.

     By the time I arrived, three other grandchildren already claimed her as "Grammy Biv". Regardless, she took time with each of us; the connection she and I shared was the jewelry box. She would take out fan shaped earrings an uncle brought back from Japan, a few little pins with rhinestones, and a beautiful old topaz ring. I was allowed to try on each piece and look at my reflection in the mirror over her dresser. Then we would put them all back in the little box. In my childish mind the rhinestones were diamonds, the earrings exotic treasures from a faraway land, and opening that box was a treat I relished!

Damascene Fan Brooch and Earrings

      Then, in my teen-aged sophistication, I stopped asking to see the jewelry box. I was no longer a child and realized the jewelry box held only trinkets and nothing of real value.

     When I first believed in Christ, opening His Word was a treat!  Though He has follower's everywhere, He and I connected over the treasures that He shared with me in His Word. He showed me jewels of truth, pearls of wisdom and allowed me to try them on and see how different I looked!

     Sometimes, we think we outgrow God's Word. It certainly doesn't seem very sophisticated in this age of technology. We may keep it shut and forget the child-like wonder we found in the treasure it holds. What I closed years ago as a teen, had worth that I didn't appreciate at the time. Grandmother no longer sits at the end of her bed with that little box of jewels , but God is always there when I open my Bible - and my heart, to Him.

"And He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."    Luke 18:3

   

The Treasure of Freedom!

     Freedom! A treasure we stop to celebrate each year on the Fourth of July. Our freedom may not be tangible, we can't hold it in our hand, but it's reality effects every facet of the lives we live. It is something so precious, people are willing to sacrifice their personal comfort - even their lives, that it may continue to exist in our country. Thanks to the men and women in our military who make these great sacrifices!

Trifari Enamel & Rhinestone Brooch

     In December of 1941 my grandfather reported to his ship and spent the years of World War II in the South Pacific. He was newly widowed, with a baby daughter - my mother- to care for. She was left with a family friend while he went off to serve his country, duty-bound by the responsibility of an oath that went beyond his grief for the loss of his wife or time with his new infant. The freedom he treasured came with a price. 

     Not long after, my great-uncle signed up for the Navy, and left on his ship in a different direction. Off the coast of Italy the ship was bombed. He and many of his ship mates paid for freedom that day with their lives.  A few years ago I spent some time writing to the survivors. Each man that answered my letter remembered the day sixty-plus years earlier like it had been yesterday. When the price of freedom is paid, it isn't easily forgotten or taken for granted.

     And in all this talk of freedom and it's price, I have to stop and give thanks to the One who truly paid the ultimate price, so that we may be free no matter what place we call home.

     The death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary was the price required for me to be free from the oppression of sin. Sometimes I take this freedom for granted. 

     So maybe, as the Fourth of July is celebrated with great sparkling fireworks, I will stop oooing and aahhing for a moment and give thanks to God for His gift of freedom in Christ Jesus, and His gift of a free life in our great country. 

May God bless America!

"...If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...If the Son therefore shall make you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:31,32; 36