CRUSHING THE SHELLS By Marion Smith

As I walked along Ponte Verde beach recently had a bizarre desire to tramp directly upon the shells and pulverize them. Some would crushed and turned to powder under my feet, but some of them survived the onslaught. The tough ones pushed down into the sand as I applied force to them and others just seemed to withstand the pressure, not cracking or crumbling. The actual size of the shell didn't’t seem to make much difference - it was the thickness that determined its “crush ability” ..The shells which remained intact reminded me of the Christian, clothed in the armor of God. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13-17 that God has given the Christian an armor to don. This armor gives us extra protection and makes us “less easy to crush”, just like those dense shells.

For years I have tried to memorize this passage of scripture from Ephesians, as I wanted to clothe myself in Gods armor each day. I was unable to do so until recently when my friend, Donna, told me her method. Now I have it down pat, and put the armor of God on each morning before I even get out of bed. I not only dress myself in it, but my husband, daughters, son in laws and grandchildren! I place the helmet of salvation on our heads- it protects my mind and all my thoughts. It allows us to rest in the reality of who we am in Christ. Next is our breastplate of righteousness(protecting our hearts), belt of truth, shoes of peace(so we may spread the true peace, which is available in God). I pick up our shields of faith to protect us from Satan’s attacks and the sword of the spirit (God’s Word.) Now we are ready to face the day- dressed in the armor of God. Satan will not crack our faith or crush our spirit with insults, temptations, or setbacks, for we are dressed- head to foot: plus some extras- to face him head on! For He that lives within us is grater than he who is in the world. I hope you will consider dressing yourself and perhaps your loved ones each morning, also! It’s a GOOD thing to do!

Thank you, Lord, for your Word and also for a special friend who taught me how to memorize it.