Gems and Treasures

We’re off to the airport soon to fly to Nassau for 4 days with my sister and her husband. We’ll probably be able to get online there so we can keep up the blog.

I felt wonderful all day yesterday. People shake their heads in amazement, knowing what the lab says about my cancer. I’m amazed too—by God’s wonderful kindness and by the impact of your prayers.

My cousin wrote to me about precious gems awhile ago, and yesterday I was thinking more about her thoughts on diamonds and pearls. Diamonds were formed in the past by extreme pressure on carbon forms. Now they are found on and in the ground, sometimes embedded in rock. They all need shaping and cutting. Pearls, on the other hand, are formed in the soft tissue of oysters, as they secrete fluids to encase irritants that manage to get inside their shell. “Is it possible,” she asked, “that the trauma of being ‘de-oystered’ is as hard on the pearl as being cut out of the rock is for the diamond? And further, what if you tried to shape a diamond by layers of secretions? Nothing! Or what if you tried to cut and shape a pearl with a diamond cutter’s methods? A little pile of pearl dust!”

Yet each finished gem, whether diamond or pearl, is precious in its own way. In several places in the Bible, God calls us his precious jewels or treasures. Randi suggests that the authenticity of our “gem-ness” is shown by our love. Do we love God, even when we don’t understand what he’s doing, when faith is difficult? Yes! Do we love people even when they’re unlovable? That’s the idea. The preciousness of the gem is related to the pressure and the irritant. The gem-maker knows what he’s doing.

Our friend with kidney failure has been placed on two transplant lists, and we’re praying for a miracle. The doctor says she’ll need to go on dialysis in a month. God knows all about this need, and he is able to help. We Fully Rely On God.

Update on grandson Jeremy in Niger: he is traveling today to Galmi, an eight-hour trip, for a three-day visit at SIM’s historic and life-saving hospital there. It will be a great experience for him. In case you’ve forgotten, his blog is jeremyinafrica.blogspot.com.

Blessings,
Carol