Monday, November 13, 2006 – Georgetown, Cayman Islands

“Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” -- Italian Proverb

Today I had the luxury to spend a few hours on a secluded beach I found hidden away in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. I was marveling at all the coral bits along the shoreline – it seemed like everywhere I looked there was another shape, or texture, or growth pattern. God’s creativity is breathtaking! But all the coral that is washed ashore is already dead, and it’s all white and stony. When the waves have washed over it enough, it degrades back into sand and is washed out to sea to be a bed for the new sea coral to grow in.

You can tell where to find the most vividly colored coral reefs by the expense of the excursion tour that takes you there. Ostensibly, we put a higher value on the most beautiful ones – the more colors and shapes you can see, the reefs with the most variety of textures and sea life, are worth paying more to see. But how often do we stop to remember once we get back to the shore that God created all things, and God recalls all things?

The lesson is this: Beauty is fleeting. Status and rank are created by man. Money is “easy come, easy go.” The only thing that lasts eternally is God Himself. He is mighty, and worthy of all glory. He shows us so, over and over, in the nature He has blessed us to behold.