Pearls

Last week, I attended Camp Manatawny and had an amazing, mind-blowing, heart-opening experience!  I learned many things and I hope I am able to share them with many people, because these are lessons I never want to forget.

In my first Bible Class (girls only!), our teacher read us a beautiful story about a pearl necklace.  I love this story and it warms my heart every time I hear it!
The story was this: The Pearl Necklace

Well, this story has rung true with me many times in my life.  We all struggle with it!  There is something between us and God that we just don't want to give up.  It can be anything: possessions, decisions, pride, bad relationships, our old lives.

For me, it was my deepest-darkest sins. I had been impure, but I had refused to do anything more than just ask for forgiveness.  It was one of those sins that you wanted to handle alone because you were too ashamed to tell anyone about it (I still am ashamed even), but sin is impossible to conquer without God.  Finally one day, I gave up fighting.  Against everything inside of me, I surrendered to God and told my best friend about what I had been doing, and I asked her for help and prayers and forgiveness.  That was the best decision of my life.  The effect was immediate, and I stopped Satan right then and there.  He left me, and I never was unable to stand against those sins again.  Yet, a week later (although this was the last time), I gave into the sin and felt dreadful.  That's what Satan does to us; he will never leave us alone.  He never leaves me alone!  A wise grandmother in my church said it this way:
"You might be done with Satan, but sweetie, he isn't done with you."

But, as this story says, God takes away our sin.  He took it away, once and for all.  Can we keep sinning?  Yes, but why would we?  That would be stupid!  And I'm telling myself that, because it was stupid!  It's taken me a year to realize this since I quit that past way of life, but once we are baptized, we have the freedom to choose not to sin.  We can look it dead in the eye because of Christ and say "No."
After suffering for so long with the thoughts that surrounded my past, I became familiar with the signs of my heart fading into that temptation.  Immediately, when my heart started to fall two weeks ago, I sat up straight and told myself, "NO. Never again."

Guess what girls? It works, because of GOD.

Give your pearls to Him.


"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,
lean not on your own understanding,
in all of your ways submit to him, 
and he will make your paths straight. 
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body, and nourishment to your bones."
-Proverbs 3:5-7