by Sherri Stevens

Pearls are small,
but they are sacred.
Pearls will “preach”
if you ask them their stories.
They are brave beads
born out of adversity.
They are sapient spheres
of layered suffering.
But with no grit,
there is no glory!
However, sands of affliction
are by no means
any assurance of an asset.
The outcome of any oyster’s experience
is determined by how it adapts
to processing its pain.
We can devote ourselves to aggrandizing
the “altar” of our affliction
to such a degree that we end up aborting
the true gift of the gauntlet,
or we can choose to cooperate
with God’s Spirit
and “alter” our oyster’s irritant
into an iridescent oracle.
We can parlay our pain
into pearls of wisdom,
or we can massage malice and murmuring
into a malignant marble.
Pearls of our hearts
are a manifestation of our mindset.
So, grit or glory,
it is our choice to make.

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