Shells of Time

Perhaps it’s the empty nest, perhaps it’s the new beginnings, but whatever the cause, the effect is a surge of memories…which are best presented poetically…or so I think.  Perhaps these sentiments will wash over you in much the same way that they wash over me:  gently, rhythmically, hypnotically…and with a splash of salt!  Won’t you join me for a walk along memory’s shore?  Surely God walks these shores too, as David records in Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.”

 Shells of Time

 Though time has passed, the thoughts don’t cease,

When memories flood, the gates release;

And yesterday now lies before,

Lapping my feet as I walk its shore.

 

Memories once buried rise anew,

They toss and turn with emerald hue;

Catching the light as they wash ashore,

With each new wave, there’re more and more.

 

I pick one up, wipe off the sand,

I lay it bare upon my hand;

It’s but a shell of days gone by,

A souvenir no coin can buy.

 

So one by one, I gather each,

But soon return them to the beach;

I place them back upon the shore,

Knowing in time there will be more.

 

For memories, though mine to keep,

Prefer to dwell within the deep;

Where waters rise, they find their home,

Contented there, they will not roam.

 

Yet I am free to beckon them,

And that which holds them can’t condemn,

My heart’s desire to walk again,

Upon the shore where I’ve just been.

 

So I’ll return when ere I might,

And gather shells that bring delight;

I’ll hold them closely to my ear,

And hear the roar of yesteryear.      

Author: Kris Smith

I live in West Tennessee with my husband of nearly 30 years and our two boys, ages 20 and 17. My love is education...specifically Christian education. For the past twenty years, I have served as a teacher and also principal. Now, however, I find myself in a new season...a quieter season...a difficult season. What I have done full throttle for the past two decades, I am no longer doing. As I adapt to this adjustment and seek the path God is clearing for me, I find myself wanting to share what God is teaching me with others. And so, here I am. Listening and learning from the Master Teacher Himself. I hope the lessons He teaches me are applicable to you as well.

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