I Threw a Coin Into the Sea

I threw a coin into the sea
It glittered, shining back at me
Then sank beneath a frothy wave
To find its hidden watery grave.

I ponder, as I walk along
This seaside beach I've loved so long;
How different from my fate will be
That coin I tossed into the sea.

The value of my coin was small
And now I think, as I walk tall
Along this sand with quickened pace,
I've no more worth, except for grace.

How many times have I forgot
That I -- an evanescent dot
On nature's landscape, here today
Then gone tomorrow, gone
away --

That I have value, purpose, and
That I'm protected by His hand?
Without His life imbued in me
I'm no more than a coin at sea.

Lord, help me to retain the thought
That I've been chosen, I've been bought....
That Christ resides inside of me
So I'm not like that coin at sea!

This poem won second place for the November 2020 poetry contest