The Cross and the Sea Turtle

I love jewelry--I admit it I really do love jewelry which makes me sort of cringe just typing it, but truth is truth even if it seems crass and materialistic. I guess it's lucky for me I have a husband who loves (or at least likes/tolerates, no I think he does love it) to give me jewelry. I have also been blessed with pieces of jewelry handed down to me from my grandmothers, my mother and other family and friends.

The weird thing is, as much as I love jewelry and as much as I have, it is rare I change it up (except my rings which is a whole other blog post). On a typical day I wear either my gold or silver charm bracelets and three necklaces.

The night I received the Golden D

I wear my grandmother's pearls given to me on my 16th birthday, my Daughter of the King cross (The Order of the Daughters of the King), and a gold D my sister-in-law gave me (and she and my other sister-in-law also have them). All three of these pieces say something about my life, something about what's important to me, and so I wear them 24/7...until.....

Right before leaving for spring break with Caroline my pearls broke (none were lost) which may have something to do with wearing them 24/7. It caused a brief moment of anxiety because I didn't have time to get them fixed before I left, but I was going to Jamaica, so I decided to relax....

Wearing her sea turlte--24/7

Wednesday evening Caroline and I were in the gift shop looking at jewelry. I wanted her to pick something that she would have forever that would remind her of the trip. She chose a turquoise sea turtle charm, and she wanted to wear it right away. It did not, however, have a chain and the shop didn't have any. With no hesitation I took the chain from around my neck that held my DOK cross and gave it to her. I slipped my cross into the inside pocket of my purse reminding myself to put it
away safely when I got back to the room.

An important part of the DOK cross is the cross was given to me at the service of admission in 2005 and I never take it off--we are asked to wear it as a constant reminder of our vows to follow our rule of life which incorporates a rule of prayer and a rule of service.

I kissed Caroline goodbye and headed back to our room.

After getting into my pajamas I opened my purse to retrieve the cross. I couldn't find it. I didn't panic, yet. I searched again, and again, and again. My panic began to rise and I dumped the contents onto the bed being careful nothing fell to the floor. I still couldn't find it. Without changing I ran back to the gift shop, explained to the clerk about the cross and its importance and together we scoured the floor and the shelves. No luck.

I returned to my room and decided to wait until morning and begin the search again. Just as I was turning off the light Caroline came in. "Did you put the cross up safely?" she asked. I told her I couldn't find it and she became visibly upset, "let me see your purse." I told her it was fine we'd look in the morning.

Morning came, but no cross was found. I knew Caroline would continue to be upset even though it wasn't her fault; she knows the importance of the cross. As I sat on the beach thinking about how to keep her from being upset, and if I'm honest how to keep me from staying upset, I thought about the vision and the mission of the order.

Vision Statement of the Order

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, our vision as Daughters of the King is to know Jesus Christ, to make Him known to others, and to become reflections of God’s love throughout the world.

The Mission of the Order

The Mission of the Order is the extension of Christ’s Kingdom through

Prayer, Service and Evangelism.

"Isn't that what I was doing by sharing my chain?" I definitely think so (in addition to a mama wanting her baby to be happy). I was at peace. 

My sea turtle

When Caroline woke up I told her we weren't going to worry about it; in fact we were going to go back to the shop and I was going to get a charm to coordinate with hers so I too would remember this time together. She was still upset, but agreed we weren't going to dwell on it.

In the meantime I will wear this pearl cross gifted to me...

I will replace the cross, and it will be just as important to me as it always has been. The original cross is somewhere--perhaps someone has it who will look up what the words on it mean and will be touched, perhaps someone will even take the time to return it to the Order. I don't know, but I do know I will always look down on my wrist and see the turquoise sea turtle and remember the trip; I will remember Caroline caring about my loss; and I will say a special prayer of thanks for our relationship.