While I was in Costa Rica my wonderful Grandma started a devotional book with my sister and I called "The Discipline of Surrender." We learned about the different symbols that God uses in the Bible and what they are meant to teach us.  It was an excellent study and we learned about the significance of the unadorned alter, the shepherd's staff, manna, Gideon's trumpet, the thorn in the flesh, the donkeys colt, and several others.  I learned that God uses the common and insignificant things to portray His power and teach us a lesson.  It also helped me see the need to take a deeper look into the Bible and not to take anything for its face value.  I had never really realized the huge significance of a simple shepherd’s staff in the hands of an almighty God. Now in my own devotion time I have begun to look deeper into the importance and meaning of the humble objects God uses to teach us lessons.