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?