I was walking on the beach with two of my friends, Clayton and Sarah, looking for sea shells. I already had two pockets full and enough in my hands to fill two more. However, I wasn't going to let the lack of space keep me from carrying more.
We came upon a big puddle of water that had been blocked away from the ocean by a thick strip of sand. In the center, was probably the most beautiful shell I had seen that whole afternoon. “Look!” I said excitedly as I nudged my head in that direction. Sarah picked it up and said, “It's so pretty.” It was this pink-orange color with off white vertical stripes. Even though it was broken in half, it was still perfectly imperfect.
After examining it for a moment, Sarah threw it into the ocean.
“Why did you do that?” I asked.
“It was broken.” She said nonchalantly. I didn't see that as a reason. I stared at the water where the shell landed for a second to ponder on maybe running to save it. I shot that idea down when I realized that I already looked like a madman wish a shell addiction.
I turned to Sarah as she was walking away and said jokingly, “Broken shells need love, too!”
At the time, I didn't realize how much truth there was in that statement. Almost every shell I picked up off of the beach was broken or imperfect in someway. They were still beautiful, though. That's when it hit me. Shells are kind of like people. All of them are so different from the other. You won't find an identical. Some are old, some are young, some are rough and some are smooth. Just like people, most are broken in some way: physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. However, every single one is beautiful and unique.
When I go searching for sea shells, I don't look for every single piece if one is broken. I consider it a shell all on its own. Every piece that has broken off over the years was meant to be broken away. It doesn't make the shell incomplete, because every missing piece is what makes the shell what it is now. So, why would I go searching for what was left in the past?
As people, we are not perfect. Our past has left us scarred in someway, for some of us more than others. We've all experienced the waves of life coming in and slamming into us. The crushing feeling of the water squeezing the air out of our lungs. Each punch and stab of every storm scraping away at skin, making us bleed and leaving us vulnerable. However, It doesn't make us not whole. It doesn't make us ugly or horrible people. It doesn't make us weak. It makes us a sea shells. Beautiful, unique sea shells. We've been washed up from the ocean of our pasts onto the dry land for someone to come by and pick us up.
So, when looking for sea shells, be sure to leave the broken parts behind and don't discriminate because of the missing pieces of a whole. Because, the she'll you find could be a missing fragment that could complete something much bigger. Or, it could very well be what you've been missing this whole time.
