Pearls

Within the past few days, I have had 3 friends come to me with serious concerns over issues going on in their lives right now. They feel beaten down with despair... and understandably so. Ironically, I picked up a bible study book I had started 6 years ago thinking I'd finally finish it. (Talk about procrastination!!!) The first thing I came to was a section on turning "sand storms" into pearls. Was God placing it in my lap and on my heart to share this with these friends?? Just in case, I want to put it out there for them, and for you. It is actually a message for all of us who will inevitably encounter tribulations in life on this imperfect earth. The analogy is from Making Love Last Forever by Gary Smalley, 1996, Lifeway Press. (Sorry, the teacher in me just had to give credit to avoid copyright infringements!) He explains that, "a pearl found within an oyster started with an irritating piece of sand, and it takes at least 4 years of the oyster adding layer after layer of secretions to make the larger, valuable pearl." In the same way, our irritating, uncomfortable trials can be transformed into pearls that become valuable in our lives. Some good can come of any bad situation, but we need to look for it. It might take a while to find (maybe even longer than 4 years), but once we do we can actually be grateful for it. It seems impossible to think we'll ever get to a point of gratitude for the suffering we are experiencing, but we can trust God to help us endure while we grieve and suffer. After a trial we have two choices... we can "get better or get bitter". You get better by looking for the pearls. You stay bitter by focusing on that irritating grain of sand. So my prayer for my 3 friends is that you stay strong while your pearls are forming... and be ready to discover the gems buried within these tribulations.