Okay… not the most attractive picture. It helps me make a point.
The sea oyster, injured and irritated, places layers of its tear-like fluid called nacre over the damaging “grit” on its tongue.
Slowly, over time (maybe even 5-6 years) this irritation, this hardship transforms into a breathtaking pearl!
Poetic!
The thing is… we all face adversity and set backs. We all experience that little grain – a stressful work week, illness, set backs in expectations. It’s hard to be your best when you feel life is at its worst. It is hard to remember that learning from adversity and transforming it into something beautiful and worthwhile take time.
In addition to time, it takes grit. 
Hardness, a.k.a. grit, it the key to turning adversity into advantage. How do you take “irritation,” “set back,” or “grit” create that pearl? The three Cs! Commitment. Control. Challenge the attitude.
Commitment to stay engaged, not letting the hardship take over and define our experience.
Control of the drive to resist passivity or the “victim” mentality and taking control of the over all outcome.
Challenge the attitude and see new and stressful changes as great learning opportunities.
Adversity isn’t an obstacle we need to get around in order to resume living our lives. Adversity is a part of life. There is opportunity wrapped up in adversity.
Maybe we should take a lesson from the humble oyster. Maybe we should embrace and grapple with adversity.
Like the oyster, we have the impressive ability to adapt. In this way, adversity gives us power… the power to change our lives, to transform our lives, our attitudes. Problems and challenges become change agents.
Without the grain of adversity, there will be no pearls.
Grit means not giving up on a dream.
When I feel “give up” moving in I remember this, “It is god who works in me to WILL and to act according to god’s good purpose.”
Sometimes I have to repeat this multiple times a day… an hour… a second. These are the moments I need the Spirit to breathe right into my soul… lifting me and bringing lift to my tired soul.
“I can’t, Lord, but You can.”
God does know best.
God is the master of transforming grit into pearls.
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Reblogged this on Resigning as the General Manager of the Universe and commented:
I’ve been working on my pearls. some days it is hard to admit that trials are blessings. However, time and experiences has been teaching me that trials make us better… beautiful pearls.
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