I read this on a blog I follow today. Very humbling and inspiring.

“Pearls are made when a foreign object becomes caught inside of an oyster. The object wounds the oyster. The wound is enclosed and inescapable. In reaction to the wound, the oyster releases a substance called nacre that coats the intruding object. As thousands of layers of nacre coat the object, a pearl is formed. It takes seven to eight years—an oyster’s full lifespan—to form a pearl. 

Pearls are created by irritation. 


You and I will face painful situations in life that are inescapable. They intrude upon us without invitation. We cannot run from them. 

They box us in. They are part of living in this fallen world. 
But they are also orchestrated by a sovereign God. For what reason? 

To work pearl into us. 


At such times, we can either let the Lord Jesus turn our painful experience into a pearl, or we can become embittered and blame others, including God. 

In the latter case, the wound never heals. As Hebrews (12:15) says, bitterness will spring up within you and defile many..." 
 
Frank Viola 
From Eternity to Here, 215-216 


"Pure devotion to the Lord Jesus is a life of faith. 
With quiet confidence this kind of believer has given up all his rights to follow the Lord in all circumstances of life. 
They rest in the wonderful assurance that their Heavenly Father is in charge of all that comes to them, and that He intends to use it to further transform them to be beautiful in character like the Lord Jesus." 

"Every painful experience is opportunity to know the Lord Jesus better." J. White


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On another note: Two days and my family will be here!! Yay! I talked to them this afternoon and they were 45 minutes away from Eureka (where they are bunking down for the evening) at 4pm. They are excited to finally be on their way!