Working backwards.

The pebbles slide out of my hands. I hear the noise they make as they hit the stones already in the basket. 

I look at the red marks on my palms where I'd clutched too tightly. Even as I stare they begin to fade.

They're cooler than I expect. That's the first thought that crosses my mind. Some are sharp. Others have had their edges worn away by the relentless sea. Some are small, almost forgotten as they slip through my fingers. Others are bigger, coarser, more stubborn.

I look at them and I see bits of myself. The bits that scare me. The bits that make me want to run and hide. If I let them grow, together they build a wall around my heart. Trapped by my own sins.

That's what I see, right there in my hands. And then I smile. 

Rubble. That's all that is left. A love greater than anything I could every conceive has broken that wall. 

Blood and Sacrifice.

Hosanna.

I am saved.