My Necklace of Pearls

After years of challenges and moments of despair, I felt like a failure. I asked God if I would ever get to the place where I could really be used by Him again. I wondered because the sense of failure seemed to clothe me securely. The Lord responded with a picture of a beautiful pearl necklace in my mind’s eye and spoke gently to my spirit:

      “The circumstances you have gone through trouble you. Some circumstances were caused by your stubbornness and others were demonic assignments. Nevertheless, I have been with you through them all. And now, I need you to grasp each of those lessons in a fresh way.

      I designed a special necklace just for you. The pearls represent each situation you overcame by My guidance and power. Just like the oyster suffers pain in growth, you have suffered pain in growth. The oyster covers his pain and it becomes something priceless. You have learned to cover your pain and discovered something priceless as well: My wisdom and glory.

Now I desire to line up those experiences, your pearls, with a knot of grace between each one so they will never pour back into your lap again. As you learn to wear this necklace humbly, I will use you greatly. When I direct you, share one of your treasured pearls to bring Me glory. This necklace, my child, is the key to your joy-filled witness in the days to come.”

      “Thank you Lord. Your words calm my heart,” I said. But then I asked another question, "How will I ever get rid of this guilt and shame?

       "When you are ready to put up your shield of faith to quench all the enemy's thought-filled reminders and let go of your obsession with self-condemnation, then you can and will move on. Afterwards, I will be able to grace-fully knot and secure all those pearls together and secure them around your neck with the blood of Jesus.”

      I have wasted so much time meditating on ‘what ifs’ and ‘I should haves’. Life should have been so different. (The shoulds kept the shame alive.) Yet, I finally realized even if I had made wiser decisions then, I would have eventually made an error in judgment.

      Wisdom training is a must in God’s kingdom. I can’t avoid trouble forever. God designed my life to be filled with instructional moments from a variety of sources. What I need to remember at all times is this: God’s grace is sufficient.

      Having this special pearl necklace reminds me all is not lost. God intends to use everything I do, right or wrong, for His glory. When I get off track, God still marks the journey as valuable and that brings me joy.

      How about your pearls that came at a great price? Will you allow God to line them up and show you off? God is so proud of you. You may feel disqualified but don’t despair! God plans to use all those 'unseemly parts' to minister grace and hope to many. Go ahead, quench the enemy’s thoughts of failure, pick a pearl and courageously share how God changed your life.
 

Mary Jane Downs

CBS Children’s Leader
Rutherfordton Day Class

The REAL Serenity Prayer

 

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference. 

         That’s how I had always heard and seen the Serenity Prayer until recently.  An article informed me that in its original form the only pronouns used were plural.  In that form it was more about unified serenity, courage and wisdom within the community of the kingdom. Having always thought it was about the individual journey of a Christian, I pondered the difference and gained new insight in four key areas. 

          First, we need to more fully appreciate community within the kingdom.  In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd was not out trying to confront and bring conviction on the wolf; instead, he was searching for a member of the flock who had drifted away from the rest; who needed rescue, reorientation, reconciliation and restoration. 

         Second, the community needs unified wisdom.  Proverbs says that wisdom was the first work of God and it was by wisdom that He laid the foundation of all creation.  In his epistle, James instructs believers to go to the Father in faith, asking for wisdom and expecting Him to supply. 

         Third, God’s people need collective and unified courage to apply wisdom that will bring about God-honoring kingdom growth.  Sometimes this involves loving, but difficult confrontation. 

         One beatitude of Jesus promises blessing to the peacemakers,

not the peacekeepers.  There is a difference.  Making peace usually requires acknowledgement of the elephant in the room, confronting the elephant, and dealing with it, so that real peace can abide in the room.  Keeping peace is more about tiptoeing nervously around the elephant, pretending not to notice it, and believing that as long as nobody disturbs the elephant, all will be okay. 

         Only godly wisdom can produce the courage to make changes that need to be made, but sometimes that same wisdom instructs us to wait while God is at work.  That’s when the fourth area becomes so very important.  That’s when we are able to abide in the serenity that only God can give in spite of circumstances. 

         I believe we can strengthen our churches (the individual communities within the Kingdom) by applying the principles set forth by the Serenity Prayer in its original form: 

God grant us the serenity to accept

 the things we cannot change;

Courage to change

the things that should be changed;

And wisdom to know the difference.

 

by Marjorie Arrowood

Originally presented to the Leadership Team

Rutherfordton CBS