Another Birthday, Another Decade, and Sunbeams of Promise
How do you handle your big milestone birthdays?
How do you handle your big milestone birthdays? Are they days to be concealed or celebrated? As I approached another “big one”, an unexpected surprise on the shores of Lake Michigan along with childhood memories, brought inspiration and peace.
A getaway to northern Michigan seemed like a great way to kick off my birthday month. With my newfound retirement freedom, Tom and I planned a week-long break at a time of year when, for the past 18, I had been prepping for IEPs and Parent-teacher conferences.
We planned to ride lakeside bike trails, taste Traverse City area wines, and see the autumn colors Michigan is known for. On all three counts, we were not disappointed.
Even with plans, there are surprises. Although the trees decked out in their brilliant fall attire were glorious, one of the best surprises I found was clothed in an unassuming brownish-gray and was small enough to hold in my hand.
Can you guess what it was?
As we neared Charlevoix, Tom picked a side street and headed west. We wiggled our way through, turning left, right, left, and then right again until we finally found what we were looking for. As we rounded a final corner, the bright blue waters of Lake Michigan beckoned to us.
With the lake in view, we turned north, hugging the shore and taking in the spectacular views whenever we were graced with them. The blues of Lake Michigan contrasting with the deep green pines and the autumn yellows, oranges, and reds of the hardwoods, stimulated our eyes while filling our souls.
As we neared the town, we found a parking spot near the beach and, although we had planned to walk down the street looking at Charlevoix’s unique cottages, the lake’s invitation was one we couldn’t refuse. We saw other beach combers bending over, picking things up, then tossing them back.
Because I typically spend time on the southeast shores of Lake Michigan, I said to Tom, “Hey, let’s look for some beach glass.” I assumed the handful of others on the beach were searching for the same. However, within minutes, a hunched-over lady using her scarf to hold her found treasures, clued us in. It was not beach glass we should be looking for.
Here, on the upper shores of the lake, just south of the town of Petoskey, it was the Petoskey stone we should be in search of. Of course! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it. Ever since a visit to Petoskey as a child, I’ve always associated the town with the stone. I recalled my 10-year-old self buying some Petoskey stone jewelry in a souvenir shop–something I cherished for years to come.
A little background for you (especially for those not familiar with Northern Michigan): Petoskey stones are a type of fossilized coral that have the unique characteristic of six-sided flower-like formations that fit nicely together like a honeycomb on the rock’s surface. Although they can be found in a few places around the world, there are an abundance of them in the upper Lake Michigan area. According to native American legend, the rocks, like the town, were named after a chief in the Ottawa tribe, Chief Petosegay, whose name means “sunbeams of promise”. (Sources: Wikipedia and Michigan.gov.)
The search was on for Petoskey stones. After about 20 minutes, I had found two. They were not perfect specimens, but they had at least some of the classic hexagons. I noticed that in order to see those shapes, I needed to douse them with water repeatedly. Once they dried, their unique features almost completely disappeared.
As I held the rough stones in my hand, intrigued by their hexagon flowers–or sunbeams, it occurred to me they were a perfect symbol for the milestone birthday I was about to celebrate. I’ve thought about them often since that day.
Each little “flower”, surrounded by six sides, reminds me of the six decades of life that have formed and shaped me. I think back over my childhood and adolescence, my 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, and recall how each decade brought its own unique set of experiences. There were blessings and celebrations, joy and laughter. There were also trials and troubles, sorrow and grief.
With each year that passes and each milestone birthday, although I remain the same person, time has changed me in so many ways.
I remember sometime around my 10th birthday I had asked for and received a rock tumbler. (Maybe I was inspired by the smooth stones in the Petoskey gift shops.) Tumbling rocks became one of my favorite hobbies for a time. I would fill the metal canister with a few ordinary-looking rocks, along with some water and special powder called grit, plug it in, and turn it on. The tumbling of the rocks against the metal made quite the racket, but the results were amazing! After nearly a week, I’d open up the canister, wash the pasty substance off the rocks, and voila! I had beautifully polished treasures, with rich colors and shiny, smooth surfaces.
Like the gravel I put into my rock tumbler, the stones I found on the beach in Charlevoix were rough on the surface. They were covered with calcium and other minerals that hid their beauty. Compared to the polished rocks and souvenir jewelry I remembered, they had much to be desired.
I thought about that rock tumbler. About the process those rocks went through to become something pleasing to the eye. They were tossed and turned. Scraped and scratched. And not allowed to rest until the process was complete. Then, they were washed clean and the beauty they had held below the surface was there for all to see.
Isn’t that how we often feel? Like those rocks, we have many imperfections. Our actions and words are often rough and unpleasant. We feel tossed aside by those who don’t see our value–the beauty that lies within.
We’re all like ugly rocks when we enter this world. But our heavenly Father searches us out and scoops us up off the rocky shore. He then gets to work on us. We tumble through life’s ups and downs. Trials, loss, sadness, and disappointment wear us down. Our rough spots dissolve as we make mistakes, practice humility, and learn to apologize. We long for rest from the constant barrage of responsibility. But we, like the rocks in the tumbler, are gradually, grain by grain, being perfected.
Petoskey stones are fossils that formed from coral that grew in Michigan waters some 350 million years ago. (And I thought I was old!) Turning those rough rocks into polished stones also takes a little time. To find their true beauty, we must be patient.
In the same way, we might give ourselves a break when we fail to act as we should and say the right words, or when our lives are spinning out of control. Likewise, we should show forbearance toward others–our children, spouses, family, and friends–when they let us down. They too, are still being formed and polished.
Most of all, we can have the confidence to wait on God. He is using the blessings and joys, but also the trials and troubles, of this world to polish us into something new, something beautiful.
Something like a honeycomb of brownish-gray flowers. Or sunbeams of promise.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)
