Black Pearls

I spent some time with the Lord this morning and asked Him for a picture.  It's been a very long time since I've taken the opportunity to sit in His presence, ask a question and actually wait for an answer.  At first I thought He was showing me a blueberry and I was thinking "Lord, really?  Does this have something to do with spiritual antioxidants?!?"  But as I waited I realized that it was a black pearl and the phrase "pearls of wisdom" came to mind.

As I thought about it some more I asked God "Why a black pearl and not a traditional cream-coloured one?  I sensed that the reason was because the pearl of wisdom He was going to give me would come in the form of a trial or something that may seem negative or difficult.

This makes a lot of sense with what I know about pearls and how they are formed.  A natural pearl forms when a foreign body such as a parasite or or other object lodges itself in the soft body of an oyster. The oyster attempts to protect itself by secreting pearl nacre, a smooth crystalline substance that surrounds and ultimately encases the object. As layer upon layer of nacre is added, the object becomes larger and a pearl is formed.

God wants to use the "irritants" in our lives to bring us pearls of wisdom.  At first it may seem that what we are going through is negative and not from God. But he uses these situations, relationships and challenges to refine us and make us wise.  Looking back on the last few weeks I can see a few difficult situations that really made me upset at the time.  However I realize now that through them, God was bringing my weaknesses to light to be refined.  I can either ignore it as a bad day, or embrace it and allow Him to make something beautiful in me.