Pearls Are Healed Wounds
Did you know that an unwounded oyster does not produce pearls?
Pearls are a healed wound.
Pearls are a product of pain, the result of a foreign or unwanted substance entering the oyster, such as a parasite or a grain of sand.
The inside of an oyster shell is a shiny substance called nacar. When a grain of sand enters, the nacar cells go to work and cover the grain of sand with layers and more layers to protect the defenseless body from the oyster.
As a result, a beautiful pearl is formed!
An oyster that has not been wounded in any way does not produce pearls, because a pearl is a healed wound.
The Agony of Defeat or The Thrill of Victory
In 1971, a triangle scribbled on a napkin transformed a dream into an airline and a “wanna” into a “gonna.” That process developed the Southwest airline my family and I flew on last week to my youngest son, James O’Donnell’s USAF triumphant Special Ops Pararescue Graduation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “We do these things that others may live.” is the motto for this most elite of all Special Operation Divisions specializing in rescue and recovery.
The decisions we make aren’t isolated choices. Instead, they point us in the directions we’re headed or keep us stuck. Unfortunately, too many dreams, well-intended plans, and callings from God get buried with people who “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,” but never did!
These people never found their courageous “Yes, I’m ‘gonna’ do this,” and gave up the fight for their confidence to say, “No, I will not walk away or accept defeat!” They may agree now that delayed obedience to God’s voice is disobedience.
Conceiving an idea and bringing it to fruition sometimes can be a long and challenging process, even taking longer than a decade, as in the case of my son! Of course, if it were easy, everyone would do it, and there would be a crowd at the top of our mountain! Unfortunately, only 36 other Pararescuemen graduated with James after conquering the rigorous “pipeline” training with an 80 to100 percent attrition rate. PJs must endure the pressure of these cuts for two years while they must complete each training segment of selection, combat dive school, airborne, free fall, survival training, paramedic school, tactics, and mastering the helicopter’s air operations. The only fist-bump from the Three Star Lieutenant General on Graduation Night was given to my son and served as a bonus for James’ patient perseverance! He kept asking, seeking, and knocking for nine years to get back into the Pararescue Training Pipeline until finally, the door opened! He felt a passionate calling to rescue and bring emergency medical aid to Airmen, soldiers and civilians during times of combat and peace worldwide.
I love the spiritual correlation between PJs and us, who are warriors as Kingdom scribes! If you enlist and commit, KWA will give you the path to becoming a Special Ops Scribe! You will be trained, sharpened, and honed with creative skills to set the prisoners free, bring healing to the wounded, and dedicate your time, energy, and life to aiding others.
On May 27th, 2011, my son’s graduation from his grueling and successful Indoctrination Course turned into the agony of defeat over just one sit-up! He missed the final cut on graduation morning during his Calisthenics Evaluation when his hands loosened during sit-ups. As a result, he was disqualified with one point off, even though he’d performed three extra sit-ups.
Life can be messy, and the blows can be gut-wrenchingly hard to take, but if we trust God and don’t give up, the thrill of victory becomes all the sweeter!
When we offer God our willingness, He empowers us to take what He has given us and multiply that blessing to others. The process begins with our faith in Him to take the first few steps, and then the adventure begins as we awaken to the Divine Set-Ups He brings to our attention to demonstrate His faith in us! Then there is character building, attitude shaping, and soul defining, all of which must take place for us to become what God intends. The step-by-step accomplishments are more than tasks. We are building a legacy ~ we are shaping God’s Kingdom and discovering the calling for our family and us.
We want our lives to make a difference for Christ in the world, to leave a lasting legacy to count for eternal significance. Each stage may not get easier, but we can get stronger!
I love the truth my Spiritual Papa, Jack Taylor, who passed away last year, shared with me from an unknown author.
The Reason I Write:
When we preach, we carve in vapor
When we write, we carve in stone
What we preach will be forgotten
What we write lives on and on.
The Choice is Yours
Faith is a lens that changes everything! I liken it to my recent cataract surgery, where image and color were reborn through the new lenses. “I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone” is my latest song! The decisions we make daily aren’t isolated choices. They carry the potential to point us in the direction we are divinely set up to go or get us off track. Unfortunately, too many dreams, well-intended plans, and callings from God get buried with people who “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,” but never did!
These people never found their courageous “Yes, I’m ‘gonna’ do this,” and gave up the fight for their confidence to say, “No, I will not walk away or accept defeat!” However, they may agree now that delayed obedience to God’s voice can be disobedience with a price attached.
As I sat on the restaurant patio looking at my friends, the Lokkers, an “Open for Business During Construction” sign was in their background above a huge deep hole in the ground. I heard in my spirit, “The deeper the hole, the greater the building.”
Doing our Father’s Kingdom business can be a long and arduous process, and the digging can be painful, but if it were easy, everyone would do it, and there would be a crowd at the top of our mountain!
This month thirty-six Pararescuemen graduated with my son, James, after conquering the rigorous “pipeline” training with an 80 to100 percent attrition rate! “PJs” must endure the pressure of these cuts for two years while they complete each training segment of selection, combat dive school, airborne, free fall, survival training, paramedic school, tactics, and mastering the helicopter’s air operations. They are the elite Special forces who globally rescue military and civilians and work with NASA. Their mascot is the guardian angel, and their motto is “We do these things that others may live.” The correlation is prominent among believers who are trained as disciples of Jesus to fulfill the great commission; to go into all of the world, baptize all in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons,
Are you willing and positioned to be trained, sharpened, and honed with creative skills to set the prisoners free, bring healing to the wounded, and dedicate your time, energy, and life to aiding others?
The great Stagg in the forest wins by the strength of his antlers. Where he fed the season before will determine his defeat or victory!
When we offer God our willingness, He empowers us to take what He has given us and multiply that blessing to others. The process begins with OUR FAITH IN HIM to take the first few steps, and then the adventure begins as we awaken to the Divine Set-Ups He brings to our attention to demonstrate HIS FAITH IN US! Then there is character building, attitude shaping, and soul defining, all of which must take place for us to become what God intends. The step-by-step accomplishments are more than tasks. We are building a legacy ~ we are shaping God’s Kingdom and discovering the calling for our family and us.