A single pearl.

It was all I could do to smile. Hold back the tears. Keep walking.

And I failed.

As soon as I saw my parents, my sisters, the posters, the "Welcome to Tennessee" signs, I couldn't hold it in. I should have been happy, and I was! And inside I was still a wreck. The divorce had been final for only about three weeks, and I was still feeling quite raw from it all.

I was there to see my sister - my beautiful little sister who I hadn't seen for a year and a half! It was marvelously wonderful to see her again. And magically, it happened to be my birthday that weekend. So. There I was in Tennessee.

My family decided to surprise me with some presents - which I wasn't expecting at all. I was just excited to be there. And I got to see the dog again, which, let's be honest, was one of the most important parts ;)

Holding back tears, I opened a small pouch that contained a beautiful pearl necklace.

"It's because you are a pearl of great price!" my parents told me. What a sacrifice they made for my pearl.

My single pearl. My pearl of great price.

With their sentence still ringing in my ears and flowing through my watery eyes, I thought, "Me? A pearl of great price?" And then I decided to believe them.

I was actually quite proud of myself for believing them, or at least wanting to. I was worth something? YES.

I have learned that pearls are formed when an oyster gets a piece of sand or another irritant stuck inside under it's mantle. In response to the pain or the irritation, the oyster secretes nacre - a fluid - that helps to sooth the irritated area and keep the irritant from irritating further. Over time, the nacre forms a pearl.

I felt that my parents were trying to help me see something I didn't really believe about myself. Yes, my heart hurts. We all hurt from time to time. Everyone has pain and sorrow in this life - no one is exempt. And from these trials, if we trust in the Saviour's atonement to heal them, the trials will turn into pearls, blessings, treasures, moments of building and learning and opportunities of faith. So what do my parents see? Well, I think they see beauty, a girl that's trying her best, a daughter who knows she is loved by her family, and a woman who is slowly getting back her shine.

And so, I wear my pearl because someday, that's what this trial will become. And because that is what I hope to be now. A pearl against a black background. After all, that's when you see them the best.

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths, it has its pearls too.” – Vincent Van Gogh