A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

I have a tale to tell today. It's a true story, and it happened to me. I want to tell it because I don't think people hear enough about what God does in the average, ordinary life, and how He loves His children so very much. Maybe in the wake of catastrophic events a story like this one can be read to know that God is very capable of rebuilding and restoring.

My boyfriend and I got engaged sometime between the birth of our first and second child. I wish I could say I remember the date, but I wasn't coherent or responsible back then. In between getting drunk or high, I used to fantasize about getting married to him. Oh sure, I wanted the house and the husband and all that, I just wanted to be in a stupor about the whole thing.
Anyway, if he and I were on the outs, which we often were, I would slip my ring off when I went to the bar. I needed to know if I was still attractive and if I still had 'it.' I did.
I also gave it back to him a time or twenty when I had enough of him and wanted to end the relationship. I tried to bail out of our relationship on a consistent basis. Looking back, that was probably one of the more consistent things about me.
The last time I tried to bail was the worst. I went house shopping with another man, planned to move out on my fiance and take the kids. There was going to be no turning back this time. However, God had a much, much bigger plan. My fiance really begged me to stay, but I said no.
But then, to make matters worse, he lost his job. How could I kick a man when he's down? I told the other man I would stay with my fiance until he got a job, then I was out of there. God had an incredibly different plan. In the meantime, He saved me, sobered me up, sent me to college and my fiance and I were married.
So, I was more than devastated when the diamond out of my ring was lost April of this year. I lost it when my company relocated offices and we were assembling shelving. It was in a warehouse-type setting, so I knew I would never find it again. Funny thing, something told me I would lose it. The weeks before I would catch myself looking at it and thinking how much I would miss it. So when it finally fell out, it was almost anticlimactic.
I made an intense effort to find it, as did my employees. My husband and I discussed our options; our deductible on the house insurance was too high and we couldn't afford to replace it. I kept buying inexpensive bands with an attempt to make up the loss, but they never lasted. I had resigned myself to no more ring. The worst, most ironic thing about the loss was that I hated looking unmarried. Finally, God restores our lives and now I had no proof I was happily married.
About a month ago I was praying when the thought came into my mind, 'When you find the diamond, you can go.' See, I really dislike my job. I would like to write for a living, and counsel people with addictions. My job depresses me. When I heard that thought in my mind, I dismissed it as wishful thinking. As the week went on, I kept thinking about that, and keeping my eyes peeled for the diamond, but to no avail.
Friday rolls around, and I'm supposed to have a meeting with a Christian counselor regarding my future. I was seeking advice for my future pursuits. I was all excited, but at the last minute, she was unable to meet me. I was extremely upset. I called my husband and told him I had enough, and I had given up trying to figure out what to do next with my life. I was angry with God, and I told Him about it.
I was looking around the warehouse, thinking I was stuck there forever when I happen to glance at the dust mop. I thought to myself that I was going to give God a hand at finding that diamond. I swept (for the hundredth time) under all the shelves. Nothing. In angry desperation, I fell to my knees by one of the shelving racks. For no reason whatsoever, I put my head to the ground, and under the shelf I saw a glimmer. With the strength of Samson, I pulled the 250 pound shelf out of the way. There it was, in a crevice on the cement floor. I don't exaggerate when I write that we had looked there dozens of times. But there it was.
MY POINT TOMORROW...