Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Crystal (04/24/25)
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TITLE: Ugly Rocks | Previous Challenge Entry
By Holly Westefeld
05/01/25 -
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"Are you sure about that?" Cris asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Well, there's no one else to get me out of your hair while you're doing chores, and you'll probably make me help."
"Not today. How about a girls day out at the beach? Daddy will be home by the time we get back."
"Really? That would be awesome!"
*****
After making sure that she and Jenni were coated in sunscreen, Cris grabbed the picnic cooler and blanket from the trunk, handing the beach towels to Jenni, who also carried a bucket for collecting shells.
Jenni raced ahead, bouncing and fidgeting until Cris had the blanket spread, then dropped the towels and bucket on the blanket and rushed into the waves. Before long, she returned with a small shell in her hand. "Look, Mom, there's something still in it!"
"That's a hermit crab. It can't live very long outside of water, so please put it back."
Jenni did so, and continued to frolic in the waves until Cris called her for lunch.
"Mom, will you help me build a sand castle after lunch?"
"Sure, sweetie."
Cris took a photo of Jenni by the completed sand castle. "I'm sending this to Daddy. Won't he be surprised!"
Jenni giggled.
"You can have another fifteen minutes in the water before we need to pack up."
On their way back to the car, Jenni stopped in front of a shell shop, pointing to a large chambered nautilus in the window. "What a beautiful shell! I love the purple. I didn't find any that pretty on the beach. Can we get that one?"
"I suspect that a lovely specimen like that is going to be expensive, but we can check to see if they have smaller ones."
They found a small nautilus with similar colors. Then Jenni spotted a bin with a sign 'fill a bag for $5.' "Oh Mom, can I?"
"Yes you may."
After that was the bin of polished rocks. Jenni filled a bag with stones of every color of the rainbow.
At the back of the shop Jenni looked down at a shelf of plain round white and brown rocks. "Why would anyone buy such ugly rocks?"
Cris smiled and reached to a high shelf, bringing down what appeared to be still another of the plain rocks. "You mean like this?"
Then she separated the halves and Jenni gasped. "They have crystals inside!"
"Yes. They are called geodes. They form when minerals fill hollow rocks. Would you like to pick a couple? Daddy will be able to help you open them."
"Yes. That will be really cool!"
*****
Jenni dashed inside with the bag from the shell shop. "Daddy, look what we found at the shell shop!"
Brent set the bag on the kitchen table and scooped his daughter up and twirled her around. "How's my Jenni-girl? It sounds like you had lots of fun today."
"We did." She pulled the geodes from the bag. "Mom said you can help me open these."
They went out to the garage, where Brent set the geodes on his work bench. He put on goggles and handed Jenni a pair. "Stand back, in case any fragments go flying."
He worked slowly and carefully with a saw, while Jenni bounced up and down on her toes. Finally, he handed her the halves of the first one, then started on the second.
"These are only clear crystals. They're pretty, but not as nice as the one in the shop."
"Most geodes have quartz crystals. We'll see what this one has."
Brent peaked at the second geode halves and smiled. "I think you'll like this one better."
Jenni squealed. "Purple!"
"Yes, those are called amethysts."
"When I first saw the geodes, I thought they were ugly."
"They remind me of your memory verse this week. I hope you have learned it for tomorrow..."
Jenni grinned. "Yep. First Samuel 16:7: "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.""
"Very good! Isn't it amazing how God puts such perfect examples of His Word in creation?"
"Yes, Daddy. I'll try to remember to look for the crystals in all the people I meet."
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