We are all Pearls

Written by Judy Johnson
February 11, 2008

When a person chooses another person for a lifetime companion to share the gift of life with, no one knows what is inside this precious gift until they are finished saying the 'I do' vows at the alter.

The gift comes from within the person that they share life with. The gift of character that builds up - streaming out from the secret thoughts and habits that become unmasked after they come back from their honeymoon. Don't forget that there are also still good things about the person.

Something that both persons did not know is that they will see the real qualities of character come out after they get married. And - there is no such thing as 'refund' to return the gift, or to find another person - like you can do an exchange when dissatisfied with a gift. We are humans with real feelings that we often taken for granted.

The question, 'Can I exchange my partner for another partner', must be the furthest from our minds. If we decide to open and peek in to our gifts before the vows, it would be no fun afterward if you peeked inside the gift before the vows. Some experiment going into a depth of intimate time before the altar vows. They think that they can experiment to see what intimacy is like, but in the end this goes against the real close commitment needed later.

After our commitments at the alter are made, the character imperfections start to show when the the person's guard is down and they begin to relax. The good news is that true closeness does not end there at the altar. It begins a new chapter of life together. Each one can began to look for the good qualities in each of each other when two of them decide to work together as a team. They learn to appreciate the good qualities that they find in each other.

The imperfections that come in people's way in their marriage are like the speck of sand that gets into the oyster. The oyster cannot get rid of it. Instead, the oyster looks for secret qualities to import that cover the grain of sand. The qualities grow bigger, and more beautiful as the oyster grows older. The oyster continues to give and receive unconditional love. This love combines with the secret qualities found and the beautiful qualities of a pearl grow to surround the imperfect grain of sand.

We can be like Oyster and Pearl. That is God's gift to us.