Trouble in Paradise: Sink or Swim

"Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. . . . The islanders showed us unusual kindness. . . .“This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” . . .  they changed their minds and said he was a god." Acts 28: 1-10

Beach on the Island of Malta

     Paul and the crew sailing to Italy had just survived shipwreck, washing ashore on the Island of Malta.  Ahhh, solid ground! Kind islanders! A bonfire! 

     Always one to pitch in and do his part, Paul grabbed a pile of brushwood and dropped it on the growing fire.  A sudden pain gripped Paul's hand. He probably thought a spark from the fire had landed on him, but looked down to see a poisonous snake latched on tightly and dangling from his hand.  

     The Islanders also saw the snake attached to Paul and the speculation and gossip started:

Hmmm. - He survived a shipwreck to be attacked by a poisonous snake?
Hmmm. - He's one of the prisoners from the ship, right? What did he do?
Hmmm. - Must've been bad - like murder!
Hmmm. - Justice says it's payback time.

     Then, Paul shook the snake off of his hand and into the fire to sizzle. 

Hmmm. - He's still walking.
Hmmm. - His color's good.
Hmmm. - No swelling. No blistering. Nothing unusual about his hand.

       *Crickets     *Crackling fire    *Campground songs

Hmmm. - He must be a god to survive both the storm and the snake!

       It's human nature to either vilify or deify people, but no one quite knew what to do with Paul.  He prophesied terrible storms and he was right.  He said "I told you not to sail now," but then shared his faith in God's goodness to encourage hopeless people on a beleaguered ship.  He shared visions of angels and God's promises, and the people lived on those promises for days. He was bitten by a poisonous snake, but shook it off and refused to die. Villain or god?  Neither. Rather, a man of God.

    The literal storms and snakes in Paul's life could have left him faith-shaken; instead, he shook them off and left deep tracks on sandy Malta beaches, turning the hearts of a people from false fertility gods to the One True God. ( http://www.malta.com/en/about-malta/culture/religion-in-malta)
     As Paul swallowed salt water and fought to stay afloat, he shouted encouragement and buoyed his fellow passengers.  Rather than allowing the snake to paralyze him in fear, he fried the poisonous thing. He, a prisoner, prayed for a bed-ridden Islander and God used him to heal all the sick people on the island.  In the middle of snakes and storms, he turned from his own perilous situations to impact a culture with his powerful faith in God. 

Dear Father,  We're so easily discouraged by storms and snakes, but we want to be like Paul - looking out for others and helping them latch onto You.  Give us faith where we lack it.  Increase our compassion. May Your Presence weigh heavily in us so our footprints lead them to You.
In the Name of the Only True Savior, Jesus!

Oyster Lemonade

"He found one that was very valuable.

So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl." 

Matthew 13:46

I'm glad the pearl is my birthstone because I've always appreciated its beauty and spiritual symbolism.  I wonder if Jesus used the pearl to represent the kingdom of God because of where and how it forms.  While most gems are dug out of their hiding places in the earth,  pearls develop in living organisms - mainly oysters. (Which begs the question: How did the pearl referenced in Matthew 13:46 come to be in a field?)  Pearls are the lemonade oysters make from foreign objects (lemons) that manage to wriggle their way into the shell then lodge in the soft, inner flesh. To protect itself, the oyster shell produces a substance called "nacre" with which it coats the "irritant."  Layers and layers of nacre eventually produce a smooth shell around the unwanted substance and problems become pearls.

Pulling pearls from the water requires specific skills. So does pulling pearls from a day.  

When something gets under our skin and digs into our peace, we're faced with the choice of leaving it exposed and painful or turning it into something beautiful.   God wants us to recognize daily frustrations as potential pearls and to wrap them in holy nacre.

"My brothers and sisters, you will face all kinds of trouble.

When you do, think of it as pure joy."

James 1:2

Here are a few frustrations you may have already faced today:

*Interruptions - There's usually a living being behind any interruption which allows us the opportunity to prioritize people above goals and tasks.  We could take a few minutes to connect and listen, then find a definite time we can and will get with them later if it's impossible to stop what we're doing.

*Disappointments - Plan B often turns out to be better than Plan A if we can stop fussing long enough to find out how to make it work.

*Loneliness - We can wrap our loneliness in the nacre of reaching out to invite someone else in. Everyone is lonely sometimes.

*Needy people - We only add to our frustration and hurt when we discard these acquaintances. We can take charge of setting parameters for how much time we can invest in them without letting them take over our lives.  Praying with them helps declare God, not ourselves, as the Problem Solver.  Praying with other people also adds a thick layer of nacre to our own growing faith since we're "putting God on the line."

*New people - We can work a little harder to find common ground - it's there somewhere.

*Strained relationships - "Blessed are the peaceMAKERS" means we're to offer an olive branch, a smile, or at least a warm greeting as a layer of nacre on these distressing thorns.  


Learning to transform thorns-in-the-flesh into pearls means one day we'll lay strings of these costly gems at Jesus feet and hear, "Well, done, my good and faithful servant. Add them to the gates -the pearly gates - of heaven."

“I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of Me. In this world you will have trouble. But cheer up! I have won the battle over the world.”
John 16:33