This past year has been heavy with heartache. I’ve watched dear friends and family members navigate through storms of suffering — the painful dissolution of marriages, the weight of illness, the ache of separation, deep rifts between loved ones, and uncertainty because of job loss. In witnessing their struggles, I’m reminded how easy it is to feel abandoned by God during our darkest moments — like the disciples who found Jesus sleeping at the bottom of the boat while waves crashed around them, crying out, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Matthew 8:23-27).

Yet even in this valley of tears, there’s a profound truth that offers comfort: in God’s eyes, we are precious jewels, held close to his heart. This imagery isn’t mere poetic sentiment — it’s deeply rooted in Scripture and tradition, and its meaning became clearer to me through an unexpected parallel in my own life.

A few years ago, as my wife and I approached our 20th wedding anniversary, I wanted to honor our journey together by upgrading her wedding ring. When presented with the option to trade in her original diamond for a fraction of its worth, something didn’t feel right. Instead, I chose to have it recast into a necklace — transforming it into something she could wear close to her heart. This decision spoke to the enduring value of what that first diamond represented, now reimagined in a new way.

This personal experience led me to reflect more deeply on one of the most striking images in Scripture: St. John’s vision of the new Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. The holy city, described as the bride of Jesus, is adorned with 12 different precious stones: jasper, sapphire, agate and more (Revelation 21:19-20). As theologian Brant Pitre explains in his book Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, these are not randomly selected gems. They directly correspond to the 12 jewels worn by the Jewish high priest in the Tabernacle.

The significance of these stones is spelled out in God’s instructions to Moses:

And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment. ... And you shall set in it four rows of stones. ... There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. ... So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to continual remembrance before the Lord (Exodus 28:15, 17, 21, 29).

When we connect these ancient instructions to John’s vision, a beautiful truth emerges. As Pitre notes in his book, these precious stones represent more than mere adornment — they symbolize the souls of God’s people. Just as the high priest Aaron carried representations of the 12 tribes close to his heart when entering God’s presence, Jesus, our eternal high priest, carries us close to his heart as he leads us into the heavenly city.

This revelation transforms how we might view our struggles and suffering. In the times when we feel betrayed, forgotten or abandoned, we can take comfort in knowing how our Heavenly Bridegroom sees us: not as the world sees us, but as precious jewels, radiating beauty even in our brokenness, treasured and held close to his heart. Just as a diamond’s worth remains constant whether it adorns a ring or waits to be reset, our value in God’s eyes never diminishes with changing circumstances. Like my wife’s original diamond — still precious, still perfect, just transformed — we remain invaluable to him through every season of refinement.

Perhaps you find yourself in a season where the storms feel relentless, where each day brings new waves of uncertainty or pain. Like a jewel being cut and polished, the process can feel harsh and unforgiving. But remember — a master jeweler knows exactly how much pressure to apply, precisely where to cut, and when to pause in the process. Each facet being shaped in your life, each challenge you face, is under the careful attention of the Divine Jeweler who sees your final brilliance even now. He’s not just passively watching your struggle — he is actively holding you, transforming you, and seeing the beauty being revealed through each moment of pressure and polish.

The next time you feel overwhelmed by life’s trials, remember this: you are not merely enduring your struggles alone. You are being carried, like a precious jewel, close to the heart of Christ our High Priest. He hasn’t forgotten you in the storm — he’s holding you through it, seeing your beauty and worth even when you cannot.

This is the profound hope we hold as we make our pilgrimage through this valley of tears. We are precious stones in the foundation of God’s eternal city, carried close to the heart of our Savior, being transformed day by day into something more beautiful than we can imagine. Our struggles don’t diminish our worth — they’re part of the process of revealing the divine light that shines through us, making us sparkle all the more brightly in his eternal design.