On a choir tour during college we went to Walt Disney's Epcot Center. In the country exhibit for China they had a table full of oysters. Guests could spend $10 to select an oyster and hope for a hidden pearl inside. I remember standing in awe watching as they opened oyster after oyster. Some had pearls, some did not. Of those that did have pearls, some were better than others. To indicate the quality of each pearl found, they would ring a bell - the louder then bell, the more valuable the pearl. I took a calculated risk and handed over my $10, sincerely doubting I would get much of anything. I was tickled to receive a loud peeling of bells as my pearl was discovered. I still have it.
How a pearl is formed is one of God's fascinating mysteries. There is a beautiful lesson here.
No matter how secure the oyster may think its shell is, there is always the possibility that an intrusive irritant can get through. Often the irritant is so painful that it can kill the creature. If the oyster survives, it sets to work dealing with the pain and creating a stunning byproduct. Instead of ignoring the pain, the creature wraps it up with its spit (essentially)! It painstakingly works to heal the pain in the solitude of its own shell, covering it with a soothing balm. Some oysters work on the same irritant for months, some even years. But when its work gets done - wow, what a treasure!
My dear friend Kim calls me Pearl, because she sees something of value in me. I cherish that nickname and am beginning to see how fitting it is.
I had a very tough shell that I thought was impenetrable, and then, a year ago today, my husband left. Talk about an unanticipated irritant! Over the past year, with much encouragement from family and friends and heavily leaning into the Lord, I have taken the pain and not allowed it to kill me. I have dealt with it and used it to create a more beautiful me.
I am a different person than I was a year ago. My faith and relationship with God has never been more strong or more real. I have REAL friends - people who love me at my highest and lowest, who pray for me and point me toward Jesus. I have strength and resolve and feistiness that I didn't know I had. I know what is important to me, what I want; I am unwilling to settle for less than God's best for my life. I've always been a "people person", but I have discovered that I have a huge capacity for love...I feel it bubble up when I'm with my students, my family, my friends. My life has become an open book, now that it's not "perfect", because I want to help others create a pearl of their own.
The Evil one has tried to thwart my pearl making process. He always seems to hit me when I'm tired, confused or down. But I'm on to him and I'm tired of him throwing doubts and lies my way.
The TRUTH is that I am a daughter of the Most High God Who loves me with an everlasting love. The TRUTH is I am His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do amazing things. The TRUTH is He will never leave me or forsake me. The TRUTH is He has plans for my future. The TRUTH is He will grant me the desires of my heart as I delight in Him. I am His Pearl.
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