The recent recollection of my daughter’s painful experience with a grain of sand in her eye caused me to consider another scenario where a potentially painful irritant is responsible for the creation of something beautiful.
Consider the clam; both its locale and its shape makes dealing with parasitic irritants inevitable.
They wander into its shell uninvited. Now what’s a poor clam to do about that? Throw a tantrum? Whine and complain?
God in His wisdom has equipped the clam with a defense mechanism, a mineral fluid called nacre with which the clam coats the intruder; over and over again until a shiny pearl is the end result.
I can learn a lot from the clam and so can you. God has equipped me (and everyone else) with talents and abilities. When I find myself confronting an unpleasant situation or person, I can choose how I am going to respond.
Do I allow my day, week or life to be ruined or do I use my God-given abilities to make the best of the situation?
The choice is mine and the choice is yours.
I can, with God’s help, make a pearl out of my painful situation.
Will you?