I'm waiting for the real pearls.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I have the ability to break any car that I have. Since high school I have had 5 cars, all of which have had something random break on it. Thankfully the majority of the issues are usually minor. But, the trigger to any of my car issues is when my parents go out of town. No joke. Almost every time they leave for a certain period of time, something always happens to my car. This weekend they went to pigeon forge for the weekend, when I went into my car to meet a friend for lunch the check engine light came on. I wasn't about to take my chances with my history of car issues when they're not in town. So I'll be driving my mom's car, just to be safe.

This weekend has been pleasantly nice. Last night and tonight I have spent my time home alone. I've watched many movies and have taken on some much needed rest. 

Last Sunday at church the pastor spoke on faith. He gave an illustration that has been in my mind all week. He told a story about a little girl and her father. The father had given the girl a pearl necklace. The girl loved the pearls and cherished them very much. One night, the father comes into the young girls room to put her into bed for the night. When the father walked in, he asked the young girl to give him her pearl necklace. The young girl was very troubled by this and refused to return the necklace to her father. The father did not argue and said the prayers for the night and put the girl to bed. For the next couple of nights, the father continued to ask for the pearl necklace and the girl continued to refuse. Each time the girl refused the father would proceed with their nightly ritual and put the girl to bed. Finally, the father walked into the girls room as usual and found his young daughter with tears in her eyes and the pearl necklace in her hand and handed the pearls over to her father without him asking. The father takes the pearls from the young girl and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black bag. He hands the bag to the girl and she reaches in to find a REAL pearl necklace.

When he told this story, I couldn't help but see myself as that little girl trying to keep the first pearl necklace. 

When it comes to relationships I've always been very picky. I've always been cautious of who I date and I've only dated those who I cared deeply about and saw a future with. Much like the little girl and her first pearl necklace, I loved very deeply the few relationships God gave to me. I wanted to keep them and never give them back. But like the father in the story, God came to me and very patiently and lovingly asked that I give them back. I am very much like the little girl, I was stubborn and I didn't want to give up what he had given me. I loved what he had given me, why would he ask me to give them back? But my story is a little different from the little girl, I came to God with tears in my eyes and gave him back the pearls he had given to me except I returned a broken necklace. See God knew it would break, he knew that I needed to give him the weak set of pearls. He held me when I cried because I had not listen to him and I had broken what he had given me. He wiped the tears from my eyes, he told me how much he loved me, and how he wants to give me so much more. He never yelled at me. He just held his arms open and loved me. I don't deserve a real set of pearls, I mean, why would he give me the real thing when I could barely handle the one's on loan. But God is merciful, He's loving, and despite my stubbornness, he still  wants to give me the real pearls he has picked out for me.

It's hard to be at a place in life when everyone around has found someone they can spend time with and enjoy their company. People tend to either over look the one's who are alone or anxiously try to find someone for the lonely so they don't have to be alone anymore. Loneliness is seen as the ultimate torturous situation in our society. But really, it's just like anything else that is difficult in life, the longer your in it the more you grow in learning how to handle it. Don't get me wrong, it's not always easy, but isn't that the same for relationships? There not always peachy and easy to handle. 

I'm on this topic because I'm running into a lot of situations where people are struggling with loneliness. I see multiple people trying to find a relationship just so they don't have to be alone and don't have to have someone feeling sorry for them because they haven't found a significant other. I tried running from it, I tried holding on to relationships just so I wouldn't have to be alone. The result? I think the previous illustration of the broken pearls can answer that question. If you're reading this and you are alone, I can't sit here and say that God will send a significant other your way soon because I honestly do not know if that's what he has in store for you. But I can promise that he has something MAGNIFICENT in store for you. If he hasn't given it to you yet, it might be because your still holding on to the first set of pearls he has given you. If your wise, you'll go ahead and hand them over to him so that he can give you a better set of pearls. If you don't, the first set of pearls will break, causing a bigger mess. Looking back, I wonder what would have happened if I had just given him the first set of pearls back when he asked me to. The truth is, I can't hold onto the "if's". God is faithful. He has promised me and you real pearls. Each of our real pearls might resemble something different but I believe God has the BEST in mind for all of us, no matter what it is.

So keep holding onto the promises he has given us. Keep patiently waiting for he is faithful to follow through with the words he has given us. And despite the difficulties that come with the waiting the Lord is using those difficulties to build us and make us strong. I'm leaving you with this quote a friend gave me. Enjoy :-)

"Your focus will determine what you believe. 'When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do, but on what God said He would do.' God is not slow in keeping His promises, but the enemy will try to attack you in the interim as you wait. Don't get focused on the negative. Don't let fear overwhelm you. Even Jesus was tested by satan with the question, "If...", but Jesus did not focus on Himself, He focused on what God said about Himself. Like Jesus, we have a defense to guard our hearts and our minds and stand firm in faith – the true Word of God's promises."