| |

The Jewels We Carry

What Will You Build With Yours?

Recently, while reading through Exodus, something struck me deeply.

When God delivered the Israelites out of slavery, He instructed them to ask their Egyptian neighbours for articles of silver, gold, and clothing. Scripture tells us that the Lord gave them favour, and so they “plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:35–36). Earlier, God had told them that these items would be placed on their sons and daughters (Exodus 3:21–22).

They walked out of oppression carrying treasure. Imagine that.

After generations of slavery, they did not leave empty-handed. They left carrying gold.

Later in Exodus, those same jewels were brought as offerings to build the Tabernacle — the dwelling place of God’s presence among His people (Exodus 25:1–8). The gold and silver that once symbolised oppression became part of something sacred.

But that is not the whole story.

Some of those very same jewels were later used to build the golden calf (Exodus 32:2–4). The same gold — two very different outcomes.

That made me reflect on my own life.

Growing Up in the Shadow of Addiction

I grew up in a home where addiction was present. And like many children raised in unstable systems, there were things that addiction quietly stole:

  • Stability
  • Emotional safety
  • Clarity
  • Predictability

It left wounds.

And yet — strangely — it also gave me jewels.

It gave me sensitivity.
It gave me discernment.
It gave me compassion.
It gave me a deep awareness of broken systems.
It gave me a hunger for restoration.

Those are jewels.

Pain shapes us. It forms capacity in us. It builds resilience. It deepens our understanding of others. Every person who walks through hardship carries something out of it.

The question is not whether we have jewels. The question is what we build with them.

The Research: Risk Is Real — But So Is Hope

Research consistently shows that children who grow up in homes where addiction is present are at increased risk of struggling with substance use and mental health challenges themselves. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies have demonstrated that exposure to household substance abuse significantly increases long-term risk.

But that is not the end of the story.

Research from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child highlights something incredibly hopeful:

The single most important protective factor for a child facing adversity is the presence of at least one stable, caring, responsive adult.

One!

One emotionally available parent.
One consistent caregiver.
One stable presence.

That dramatically reduces the likelihood of negative outcomes.

That is a jewel placed around a child’s neck.

If you are in recovery…
If you are a supporter trying to hold your home together…
If you are rebuilding after chaos…

Your stability matters. Your growth matters. Your emotional availability matters.

You may not be able to undo everything that happened.
But you can interrupt the cycle.

What Are You Building?

The same gold can build a tabernacle.
Or it can build a calf.

We can use our pain to:

  • Build control.
  • Build performance.
  • Build coping systems.
  • Build idols of self-protection.

Or we can use it to:

  • Build connection.
  • Build belonging.
  • Build healing spaces.
  • Build families where identity is nurtured.
  • Build environments where God’s presence can dwell.

At Connexted Coaching, this is why I am so passionate about prevention and restoration. Parenting is not just behaviour management. It is identity formation. It is belonging creation. It is system transformation.

We cannot change where we started. But we can choose what we build with what we carry.

God does not waste suffering.

He redeems it.

The jewels are already in your hands. What are you building with yours?

Similar Posts