August 14, 2001
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials
of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work
so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-5
This is one of those verses I have to keep coming back to... I understand the message but it seems the hardest thing to really live. In hindsight I can appreciate what trials and painful times do for me. I can see what God has worked in my heart and character as a result but in the midst of them it's very difficult to have that perspective.. all I see is the pain and in my mind pain is bad! I read something last night that helped me with my perspective...
"Pearls are the product of pain. For some unknown reason, the shell of the oyster gets pierced and an alien substance - a grain of sand - slips inside. On the entry of that foreign irritant, all the resources within the tiny, sensitive oyster rush to the spot and begin to release healing fluids that otherwise would have remained dormant. By an by the irritant is covered and the wound is healed - by a pearl. No other gem has so fascinating a history. It is the symbol of stress - a healed wound... a precious tiny jewel conceived through irritation, born of adversity, nursed by adjustments. Had their been no wounding, no irritating interruption, there could have been no pearl." (Released from Shame, Sandra Wilson)
It amazes me, not what God can do but, the way he chooses to do things. In my mind pain is bad and I imagine that beautiful things are born of simple & painless processes therefore when I go through something painful -- something must be terribly wrong!! But that isn't true... pain is neither good nor bad, it just is. It's how I react to it, whether I decide to let God use it that really matters... it is one of God's tools to cultivate beauty in our lives if we let him. Only God can take something painful, difficult even ugly and turn it into a gem, not just any gem/jewel but he turns it into one of the most beautiful and priceless jewels!