photographed by LPS.

“Your love is like radiance diamonds.”  We just filled up my daughter’s car with gas and as the car starts, those words come over the air waves on New Jersey’s 99.1.  We both smiled as the song came on and she said now you have to write your diamond story tonight.  I shared this same story with her today verbally and it goes like this…

A friend of mine last week reminded me of one of my canned sayings back in the day when we sold real estate together. “Stick with me and you will be wearing diamonds.”  Yes, I used to say that as a cocky 20 year old kid.  It was all in good fun though and effective salespeople need to feel good about themselves with an air of confidence.

The next day a surprise visit from another friend that I worked with in the mid 80’s, chuckling he asks me, “Swartzteen, do you remember when you used to always say, “Stick with me and you will be wearing diamonds.”  Well of course I do.

Pulling a pack of matches out of my winter coat the same week, a diamond logo is displayed with the word diamond prominently written across it. I think there may be a message centered on diamonds.

A short while later at my Church, I reach in the box of K-Cups and the brand pops out at me….Double Diamond.

The next morning, I see a billboard promoting diamonds.  Later in the day, I receive an email referencing diamonds.  With no fianceé on the horizon I am not in the market for a glitzy rock yet diamonds are coming at me everywhere I turn.

The word diamond radiates in my mind.  Maybe this is the answer to a prayer I have. I have been asking God recently how He sees me.  Does He see me as a colorless piece of carbon, formed and made stone-hard and beautiful under great pressure?   Maybe He is getting me ready for my bride, perhaps I should be saving for that flawless stone. Again, with no fianceé in sight, I think it is the former thought of how He sees me.

Surely I can be reading into things and simply focused on diamonds because some old friends brought up my classic one-liner so I take it up in prayer with the Lord.

I ask God if He is speaking to me about a diamond to be clear and let me know.  I want to know God is speaking if it is in fact God surrounding me with diamonds. I specifically request from God, if you are telling me something about diamonds please bring it up at my home-group tonight (Bible-Study).

We are studying creation in my Bible Study and the story of Adam and Eve.  How can diamonds come up during a discussion about the Garden of Eden?  Very unlikely so if it does, I will know God is speaking to me with something related to diamonds.

Sure enough, during the lesson, the lady next to me asks the leader a question and asks did you hear the song ……? With an enthused reply a melodic voice sings, “Your love is like radiance diamonds.”  Bingo, there I have it.  I know God is speaking diamonds to me.  God did exactly what I asked Him to do.

I was hoping to get an answer of some sort in my spirit as I waited 10 minutes on a dark cloudy night outside of my car after the meeting. Looking up into the late night sky there is a diamond suspended in the sky.  It is a star.  There is only one visible star in the sky.  Shining bright and brilliant in the Northern sky is a solitaire diamond dispersing light over my path looking over me with a twinkle.

Diamonds are the most precious and valuable gemstones on Earth.  At times I am guilty of selling myself short and although I appear ‘full of myself”, I have questioned my own self-worth when things go wrong.  I will never question my self-worth again, regardless of all the wins and losses along the journey. I now know the answer.  I am a diamond.

I do not say this in a proud or pompous way but in a humble way I confidently assert I am a diamond.  We are all diamonds for we are all beautiful, precious, and extremely valuable.

God sees me as diamond.  Jesus is my rock.  Diamonds are rocks.  Jesus’s love is like a radiant diamond. Diamonds reflect back what is in front of them.  Through God’s radiance I am a bright and brilliant diamond.  Talk about having something worth its weight in gold. We are worth more than that.  I am over 200 pounds in carats cut by the Master Himself.

I hope to reflect all facets of God’s beauty, love, faithfulness and goodness.

The scriptures say in Isaiah 62 “For the Lord delights in you and your land shall be married and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Wow!  God rejoicing over me?  I am just a guy on a journey yet He rejoices over me??  Yes He does.  He shows me I am as precious and as valuable as the most prized of all prized jewels.  I love it.  I believe He sees a diamond when He sees me!

As for the bride, I trust God is working on me to be the unselfish and loving Godly man she deserves.  God will awaken this lovely lady when we are both ready.  In the meantime, I will keep saving for that weighty stone perfect in cut, color, clarity.

Now the double diamond makes sense to me, it just came to me as I close this story for now.  This lovely women sent from heaven gets a double diamond.  She gets a diamond for her hand and she gets the diamond writing this story.

I do not say that in a cocky or self-inflating tone.  I am thrilled to be who I am and I am a diamond.  I am keeping the diamond matchbook until I strike the perfect match.  My diamond match and we will one day light the unity candle.  Thank you Lord for making us diamonds.