Write it on your wrist

I took a Beth Moore Bible study several years ago. It was good. I have taken some of her stuff, back when they offered it at church on Wednesday nights and I was there already. I’m not really a “bethmoorite” that can’t wait for every study and goes to every conference within a three state area, but I enjoy them occasionally. Mostly, I like to read my Bible. Anyway, that whole paragraph was really to get to this point. The study was Believing God. A couple weeks in they talked about the children of Israel weaving cords of blue into their prayer shawl to remember the commands of the Lord, and then they talked about rocks of remembrance, building a stone altar remembering how God was good to them.

In the Bible study they challenged everyone to wear a blue ribbon tied around their wrist to remember to believe God. That is a powerful thing. Having something tangible with you to make you remember. This spring as I was going through a rough time I bought this bracelet.


The blue to remind me of God’s commands. The stones in it to remind me of the good things he has already done. When I started wearing it I almost felt Catholic rubbing a rosary. I would hold these beads between my fingers for comfort. I would see or feel the bracelet on my arm and it would remind me to pray.

Interestingly enough, this is one of those karma bracelets or something like that and the inscription that came with it is “hope”. That always brought my mind to the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.

These verses have come to mean to me that loving others is going to be hard, otherwise we wouldn’t have to bear and endure and hope. But it’s so worth it.

I still wear it. The bracelet. The white and greeny blue don’t match much in my closet. But then, I’m not all about matching accessories. And what this bracelet means to me now is different than 6 months ago, even 3 months ago. It reminds me that God is faithful. That he keeps his promises. That he can be trusted. This strip of white threads interspersed with green stones and white sparkly stones cost pennies compared to the tennis bracelet I wear with it.

It was a gift from Steve. It’s very special to me too. I wear it often and it makes me think of him. It reminds me that he loves me. It reminds me of our life together. And I had been meaning to take it to the jewelry repair shop, because one of the prongs broke and I lost a diamond. But now I’m not going to. In the picture you can’t tell it’s missing a diamond. It’s shiny and sparkly and beautiful. I like the missing diamond. I like the idea that it’s beautiful but imperfect. I like that the bracelet shines and sparkles and you have to look hard to see it’s missing a chunk. I like that its beauty, in my eyes (the owner) is not diminished because of the missing piece, it’s more valuable to me because of what it’s come to represent. It reminds me of Steve and I together. Not perfect, but together. Beautiful in our owner's (creator's) eyes. Broken, but repairable by the expert.

It represents that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That beauty is found in imperfection. That just because something can be made whole, doesn’t mean it has to. It can be used and loved and valued in its “less than” state. While beauty can be found in a 2 carat diamond tennis bracelet it can also be found in embroidery thread and glass beads. That value is placed on the expensive gift from a lover but there is also value in a cheap bauble purchased for myself.