Faith

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We all have some hobby, some talent, some goal that may consume our time, our efforts and our thoughts as we pursue tirelessly the thing which urges us on and, in our drive and determination to fulfill our destinies, the character of the soul is refined and faith can be made stronger from the often very hard work of the pursuit.

But the complexity of human nature can also mean that, at times, we are consumed by aspects of life that, while they are irritations to the mind and soul, they can by their very irritating nature, work to improve character; to make us more productive followers of Jesus. For Christians, just as sand in an oyster works to prove there is a treasure at the end of a natural process, life's little irritations and the slow growth of faith work to bring out the treasures hidden within the spirit.

These grains of sand come in many different forms for the Christian. Perhaps in the process of daily dealing with the frustration and anger over a problem with a co-worker, of struggling to cope with a difficult or depressed or difficult family member, in figuring out how best to discipline a strong-willed child without damaging his character and soul...these little (sometimes not so little) irritation of life are all grains of sand within the shell of the soul that work to form a more beautiful and valuable pearl.

The mark of a true child of God will be to not try to remove the irritations of life; to not try to "blow the sand out of the shell

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