I recently visited the tropical island of St. Croix for the first time with my husband, two children, sister, brother-in-law and their two children, and both of my parents.  We enjoyed an amazing week of snorkeling, sunshine, relaxation, and catching up with one another! 

On our second day at the beach, my 7 year old daughter discovered an unusual, opaque, green tinted object. 

Now, if you are curious like me, and you don't know exactly what your daughter has discovered, what do you do? 

Ummm, google of course!

So according to my in depth google research, I learned that what she had discovered is called sea glass!

Now, inquiring minds want to know; where does this tiny, smooth, beautiful object come from?  How was it formed?  How did it get here on the shore?

Well......get ready, because here is where the story turns ugly.  

You see, sea glass is essentially trash.  That’s right; it is human waste and garbage that we have recklessly and thoughtlessly thrown into the beautiful ocean.  

The glass from litter such as bottles and other trash makes its way into the ocean as human litter, smashes against the rocks and ocean floor, and breaks apart. 

The rough edges of the broken glass are then refined and smoothed out over time by the constant movement of the saltwater, sand, and waves until this new "sea" glass washes ashore leaving beautiful treasures along the sand.

Initially, I felt pretty sick about all the human waste we, as in collective human beings, produced and misplaced to create such a vast array, assortment, and amount of sea glass.  

As I pondered on this longer, I was reminded of a bible story in the book of Genesis.  You may remember the story of Joseph, the favored brother of 12.  He was the one with the colorful coat, given to him by his father.

Well, the story goes that Joseph's brothers get so jealous and sick of Joseph they decide one day to sell him into slavery to be rid of him once and for all. 

This story also gets pretty ugly! 
 
But see this is where God intervenes for Joseph.  

While Joseph is enslaved in Egypt he is imprisoned. And one night he begins interpreting the dreams of his fellow inmates, one of whom works for the pharaoh.

This inmate gets released and is working daily for the pharaoh.  Years later he hears of some strange dreams pharaoh is having.  He tells pharaoh of Joseph and his ability to accurately interpret dreams.  Pharaoh calls for Joseph in prison, and Joseph is brought before pharaoh.
 
He tells pharaoh his dreams mean that Egypt will have a famine, and men from other lands will come to Egypt for food and help.  

Pharaoh is pleased.  He not only releases Joseph from prison, he brings him in to work for him in the palace!  

So what does all this have to do with recycled trash?

This is exactly what I'm getting to!

See at this time in Egypt there is also a famine occurring, and people (including Joseph's brothers) are travelling from foreign lands to get grain from Egypt.  

To make a long story short, when Joseph's brothers arrive before Joseph in pharaoh's palace they don't recognize their brother from years ago.  He is changed into a different person; robed in fine clothing, clean, standing tall in a respected position in the land, seated comfortably near the greatest ruler of Egypt.  You might even say Joseph is “polished” or “refined.”

Now, does Joseph turn on his brothers?  Refuse them provisions and food?  Perhaps even have them thrown in jail, or even worse killed for what they did to him?

No, he does not.  

He simply says to his brothers in Genesis 5:20, "You meant evil against me, but God used it for good.”

What a story! There are such great practical implications for us here. So many times, things come against us that seem evil- sometimes they are evil- and God is able to use them for good anyway.

Sea glass reminds me that what humans often mean as evil and irresponsible, God uses for His good.   It reminds me that only God can remove our sharp edges, only He can refine us, and only He can transform our sometimes dirty, awful, and sin filled lives into something beautiful.  

I love knowing that no matter what I may do today to mess things up, God won't let me mess up His plans for my life. 

He even promises that He has a plan and purpose for our lives, plans for good and plans to prosper us! (Jeremiah 29:11)

So be reminded today of our amazing and almighty Creator God! 

​He has already written the story....now hold on for the ride because the ending is better than we can ever imagine!