I have always found oysters fascinating. I love the pearly white insides and the deep purple hues of where it once was attached to a living creature. Every one  a treasure coughed up from the sea, or a restaurant for that matter. It's become the running joke of my husband and I. He says I can’t sneak anymore shells when we leave a restaurant or oyster roast, not because I have enough in my collections, but maybe one or two have been forgotten in my purse through the years.

Through the years, I have usually painted the inside of these beautiful shells, until recently the outside has caught my eye. The outside of the shell shows the growth of an oyster, similar to that of the rings in a tree. I love the depth, texture and color  in each curve of the ring.

Growth. We all have a growing season. Some cold, long, scarred-we show the signs of each lesson in each twist and turn of life.  Others, the lessons we learn quickly, the signs aren’t as visible to the eye, but it's there. Life experiences, seasons, perspective. I am thankful for each one. Unexpected at times, but God has used all of it for good. Some I hold close. I examine, question. Others I share, hoping that my story will only encourage their own.

I'm glad I don't have a perfect linear view of my life laid out. Instead, I'm grateful that there is purpose in the days and I set my hope on eternity. Our lives are beautiful, scarred and all. It all shows growth.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.