The clam and the pearl

I have a cute story about my daughter and thought I would share...Months ago my daughter and I were having one of our "deep thoughts" conversations. Where questions range from what do lady bugs eat(aphids(sp?)to how many teeth do sharks have(around 3,000)? This time it was about clams. Why did God make clams(Oysters)? They are not beautiful.
I know that I had my hands full with this question. When she says, "oh..oh..I know, it is because you need to have patience to have something beautiful created." Could not have answered that better myself. But, we were not done with our conversation. We went on to talk about how in Gods time(not ours) things show their beauty. Though even when a clam endures the violence of the seas and it is not beautiful to our eyes, God views it as his...and with time and patience, it creates an amazing pearl out of a tiny speck of dirt.

I have to think that we are a lot like clams. We get tossed around in this thing called life. But in Gods time and with his love we will show our true beauty...all for HIS glory. He knows that we are like that beat up clam...that with the dirt that enters our life, it is there to create a fine pearl...but only through Gods mercy, grace and patience. Many times we are broken and filled with shame and sin, but through all that he still created us. Nothing he creates is a mistake. He is truly amazing.