Today was particularly significant to me because I was cleaning up AFTER our Easter Sunday services. And you can imagine how the bathrooms would look after being used by almost 1,500 people in 3 services. I was engrossed in my cleaning of the ladies bathroom, when I notice there seemed to be little (costume) pearls everywhere. There were a few behind some of the toilets, some near the trashcan, some near the sink, and as I picked up pearls, I kept finding more. I began walking back and forth to the trash getting rid of the handful I had and then returning to my cleaning only to find more hiding somewhere. It started to become really funny, but I was alone so I just laughed to myself!
After a few minutes of this I gathered a few in my hand and then as if I heard Him, I felt God speaking to me. Cleaning this bathroom was like one of the trials I have been in, it's unpleasant and difficult. Those pearls were like God's rich blessing, they were scattered all throughout my trial and hidden in places I never thought of! Sometimes God Gives us the gift of a trial and sometimes he leaves us in it. Sometimes it feels like He has left us in it longer than we would like :) But in His trial He gives us His richest blessings, like little pearls of wisdom! He blesses us in times and places that surprises us!
James 5:11 "We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. " I could chose NOT to clean that bathroom, but then I would have missed the pearls. We could chose NOT to trust God in our trial, but then we would miss His blessing!
