Posts Tagged ‘Pearl’
The Value of a Pearl
We celebrated our Pearl’s second birthday on Friday. She is more precious to our family than the rarest of gems. In fact, she is priceless. It is only fitting that the gemstone that bares her name, and is coveted as an object of beauty, is a metaphor for something very rare, fine, admirable and valuable.
A gemologist uses six main factors to determine a pearl’s quality and worth. Perhaps these factors will aid me in expressing the inestimable worth of my daughter.
Nacre is the smooth surface that gives the pearl its beauty. The thicker the layers of nacre, the more valuable the pearl. It is the substance from which pearls are made. Pearl’s “nacre,” the substance of who she is, can be seen in her mother. She looks and acts like Sandy. From her wisps of hair and button nose to her expressive face, from her determined and fiery spirit to her sensitive and loving heart, she is Sandy made-over.
Luster is the intense glow that comes from within the pearl that is produced by reflected light. Pearl has a luster in her beautiful brown eyes that reflects her indomitable spirit within.
A good quality pearl will have few blemishes or marks on its surface. Perhaps I am biased, but I have never seen a prettier little girl than my Pearl.
A perfectly round pearl is the most sought after shape. There is a hardly a greater feeling than when Pearl curls up in my arms.
Color does not greatly affect the value of a pearl as it is more a matter of taste. Pearls come in a wide variety of colors. Pearl can be very capricious. Her personality is colored with tenderness, passion, silliness, curiosity, and a myriad of other traits.
A key factor in a pearl’s value is its size which is largely determined by the size and vitality of the living thing that produces it. Pearl is a gift from God, made for His pleasure and entrusted to us to present back to Him. How can you place a value on that?
“Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” – Matthew 13:46
Daddy’s Little Girl
I heard something on the radio a few weeks back as I was driving. I caught only a brief statement made on this program but it went something like this…
Fathers are the primary male role model in a girl’s life and influence their daughters in profound ways, from how they see themselves to what they come to expect from men and the world at large. Often in adolescence, when the father has been absent, either from the home entirely or through poor communication and lack of affection, the daughter seeks out this missing piece of her life from another male. Ultimately as an adult, her future husband will very likely reflect her dad’s characteristics, regardless of his positive or negative effect on her life.
It is sobering to consider the effect my life has on the lives of both my kids. I want to represent to Pearl and Isaiah the richness, honor, and value of being a real man. I want to be a godly influence on their lives and reflect my Saviour. I want them to see in me what it means to be a godly husband and father. I know I fail them in a thousand ways but even in my failures I want them to see a man that is open about his mistakes and tries to correct them according to the scriptures. I want Pearl to be able to pattern her choice of a future husband after the first love in her life, her daddy.
”Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
(For an insightful commentary on the above verse click here).
Big Brother
Isaiah has prayed for at least half of his six years for a brother or sister. His imagination worked overtime on what it would be like to have a sibling. I was looking forward to how he would react to his little sister. Here are a few random observations and conversations with Pearl’s big brother…
Isaiah prayed three things consistently while Sandy was pregnant with Pearl… that Pearl would get saved, that it would only take 15 minutes for mommy to have her, and that she would only cost a dollar.
Isaiah spent the night with my parents when Sandy went into labor. When Grandma and Grandpa brought him to see Pearl at the hospital he made a bee-line for her. The first thing he said when he entered the room was “Can I hold Pearl?” The second notable thing he said was, “Can I see her dirty diaper?”
I was playing with Isaiah outside after we brought Pearl home. I asked him, “What do you think about having a little sister?” His precocious answer caught me by surprise. He replied, “I’m doomed!” I inquired as to why in the world he would think that. He said, “Pearl will want to play tea party with me and there is no way I’m playing tea party.”
Isaiah told Grandma, “I’m not going to let any boys touch Pearl.” Then he named one boy in particular and said, “Especially him, he picks his nose.”
I overheard a conversation Isaiah had on the phone with his seven year old cousin Evan. Isaiah said, “Being a big brother is a lot of responsibility. I have to give up some of my play time for Pearl.”
The day after we brought Pearl home from the hospital I asked Isaiah to watch her for a minute. Sandy was indisposed and I had to run down to the basement for something. I heard Pearl begin to cry and Isaiah yelled nervously to me that she was crying. I told him I would be right there. To calm Pearl down Isaiah had begun to sing to her a hymn that we sing as a family. When I arrived in the living room, Pearl had stopped crying and Isaiah was singing, “Shadows around me, shadows above me, Never conceal my Saviour and Guide; He is the Light, in Him is no darkness – Ever He’s walking close by my side. Heavenly sunlight…”
“…there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” – Proverbs 18:24