Rebuilt With Precious Stones
God is Present in Every Detail of Our Lives
The last two weeks of April have been intense. In the first week of April, my step-grandfather was admitted to the hospital and, within a few days, passed away from a 25cm cancerous tumor in his liver. Furthermore, my sweet dog, Honi, whom I adopted after my other dog, Lani, passed away from cancer in August of 2024, has consistently had blood in her urine since March. Despite taking her to various veterinarians, no solution was found to remedy the bleeding.
On Monday, I called my veterinarian to let them know that her stool had been runny, she was eating less, her tail was constantly tucked, she was shaking, and her pee was only blood. They advised me to take her to the veterinarian emergency room. There in the waiting room, I fought to keep my tears from flowing, but the grief only got bigger. Honi was diagnosed with Idiopathic Renal Hematuria, a condition where the kidneys bleed without a necessary cause, causing blood in the urine. With that said, she will bleed herself to death, and there are no veterinarians on O’ahu who provide services for her condition.
Again, God. When does my family get a break? I muttered under my breath as I left the emergency room.
So the tears came. Again. And my heart pounded. My immune system weakened. My asthmatic cough worsened. And I lay in bed weeping, in an all too familiar way that has been perennial since 2007. One of the habits I’ve developed to comfort my heart amid grief is to recite Isaiah 54: 1-5. So while I cried and wheezed away, I recited the verses, reminding myself of God’s character.
“Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
On Wednesday, I lay on my bed, doom-scrolling through YouTube shorts, when I paused to watch a video of a lady talking about Jadeite. At that moment, a peculiar thought crossed my mind: You should watch this; it’s important to know how to distinguish real Jadeite from fake Jadeite. I did not own Jadeite jewelry, nor was I interested in geology and the intricacies of precious stones. Yet, I watched the entire video and even let it replay twice because something about its message felt urgent for me to know.
A few minutes later, I decided to fold laundry, and in doing so, I found a t-shirt that I had borrowed from my mother before she passed away. The color didn’t suit my skin tone, so I returned it to her unused dresser. As I placed the t-shirt into her drawer, another peculiar thought crossed my mind: You should check your mom’s bra drawer. Led by curiosity, I opened the drawer and took out the clothing; there, at the bottom, lay our Chinese heirlooms! My great-grandmother’s Jadeite necklace and her hand-painted Jadeite egg. I sent a video to my best friend, describing my experience and marveling at the seemingly “random”, intuitive thoughts that led me to discover these treasures.
The next day, Thursday, I sat in the car with my best friend, pouring out my lament. I shared how I felt like I’ve been swimming in the waters of grief, while simultaneously watching the flood waters of my family’s generational trauma dissipate as I work towards rebuilding healthy dynamics in my family. I shared how it can feel unfair that I have to sort through the burdens of my broken family dynamics, which I didn’t create but was born into, and how much emotional strength it takes to do so. I shared how it feels like intense pressure, and I wish it were all rebuilt.
The next day, Friday, I drove to a local antique shop to drop off curly hair products for one of the volunteers. When I walked in, there, in a new glass display case, was a row of Jadeite Chinese eggs. My eyes widened, and I quickly asked the store clerk if the eggs were new. She replied, “Yeah, we got them earlier in the week.” Then for the third time, another peculiar thought crossed my mind: I need to research Jadeite, and if it has meaning in the Bible.
Later that day, I was talking to a friend who shared a silly story of how she could not figure out where a stench in her fridge was coming from, and after praying about it, God revealed that she had rotten broccoli in her fridge. She rejoiced in the fact that God delights in every detail of our lives, and it made me remember the Jadeite. I opened my Google search engine and typed in: The meaning of Jade in the Bible. The first article that popped up was published by Answers in Genesis, and its title caught my eye: Jade- Beauty Under Pressure. From the article, I learned that Jade is not specifically mentioned in the Bible; however, Jade is formed under unique conditions, particularly under the extreme pressure of water. The article summarized that Earth’s Jadeite was formed out of catastrophe- Jadeite was formed from the global Flood cataclysm’s extreme stresses, water, and heat.
My first thought after reading the article was: Wow, this speaks more to me than the idea of being refined like gold and silver. Jadeite was literally made in the intense pressure of the flood waters, the same imagery I’ve been using to describe my life. I spent the rest of the day marveling at the detail of God, whom I recognized has seen my journey through and through, and made sure to guide me to the very imagery that would encourage me amid the toil and grief.
To celebrate my little discoveries, I decided to go on a prayer walk. When I left my house, the fourth peculiar thought (hehe, Holy Spirit, I know it’s You prompting me…) crossed my mind: You should listen to Isaiah 54 again. In response to that prompting, I opened my Bible app, scrolled to Isaiah 54, and pressed play. When verses 9-13 were read, my ears perked, and I realized that the passage mentions the Flood and being rebuilt with precious stones.
Verses 9-13
“To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.“Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with lapis lazuli.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be their peace.
In righteousness you will be established:
How did I not notice that these two things were in the passage I recite every day? In a sudden moment, everything made sense. Not only is Jadeite made from the pressures of the flood waters that covered the earth, but God promises to use precious stones, Jadeite being one of them, to rebuild the afflicted city! My mind was blown! That was EVERYTHING I had been lamenting about. Though I’ve always known that God sees me, this was such a tangible way in which He displayed that truth.
Tears of joy streamed down my face as I pondered the sovereign eyes of my Heavenly Father. He has seen my every labor of love, every tear of lament, every cry for more strength and perseverance, every moment of surrender, and has provided a sign of comfort. A sign to confirm that I am being rebuilt with precious stones, and one day, I will come to understand, in part, the unseen work He’s been doing in all the flood waters of grief. For though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet His unfailing love will not be shaken nor His covenant of peace be removed…
So dear reader, may you have eyes of faith to see the little details of your life in which God is present in for He is always moving. El Roi. May God bless you abundantly.
Amazing. Thank you Spirit.