I've always appreciated and admired Pearls. Not only are they the stone for June, my birthmonth- they are formed in such an amazing way!! Ever heard the phrase, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"?? Well there are certain creatures who literally live by this principle.
Pearls are created in nature when a grain of sand enters an Oyster shell. Being composed of soft, muscular tissue and having no way to cast out the sand, after the tiny granule enters the shell of the mollusk, an amazing work begins. This little sea creature begins to deposit a specialized calcium coating over the irritant. Plain old sand, becomes something beautiful! Some Pearls are completely round, other times pear, potato, or tear shaped. They come in a variety of glossy colors: White, Black, Lavender, Pink, Gray, etc- but all are precious. Men known as Pearl Divers can hold their breath up to 6 minutes while diving down to retrieve a single oyster, in search of a Pearl.
Ten Interesting Facts About Pearls:
1 - Pearls are the only precious gemstones made by living animals. (Sorry folks, but kidney stones don't count. ha ha)
2 - Tenderly harvesting pearls from Mollusks does not kill the animals, as they can be re-implanted and used to make more Pearls.
3 - Akoya, or Saltwater Pearls come from oysters, but Freshwater Pearls usually come from mussels, although all mollusks can make Pearls.
4 - Pearls take their color from the inside of the shell in which they are growing.
5 - Virtually all pearls today are "cultured" or "cultivated". Harvesting "natural" pearls is hard due to water pollution, Tsunamis, and other phenomena that make it difficult to leave oysters safely in the water long enough to grow sizeable pearls.
6 - Every Pearl is unique. No two are exactly alike, and all have some imperfections when closely examined.
7 - The oldest known Pearl jewelry piece was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess who died in 520 BC.
8 - Pearls vary in value depending on size, shape and where they are from. Large, round Tahitian Pearls are normally the most expensive. A sizeable pearl takes many years to develop. The largest pearl ever recorded was 24 millimeters in diameter.
9 - Pearl farming is known as "Periculture." In this technique, a grain of sand in inserted so a pearl can be made.
10 - In 1916, Jacques Cartier bought his 5th Avenue store by trading two Pearl necklaces for the land.
Jesus Christ once told a story about a 'Pearl of Great Price'. A wealthy merchantman sold everything he had in order to search for and obtain this precious treasure. It must have been a lovely Pearl! From our perspective, Jesus is the Pearl. However, did you know that when Jesus told this parable, 'The Pearl of Great Price' represented you and I? God has given everything in order to ransom us from the Evil One who enjoys tormenting us in this life. That's right, we can blame the Devil and not God for the horrible things we endure. I am confident this reality is not all there is for us- to go through so many trials and simply die- end of story... there has to be more...
People remind me of Pearl fact #6- with our different shapes, sizes, gifts and talents- but each in need of love, mercy, forgiveness and the righteousness of God. Guess you could say, Pearls are born-again grains of sand. They go into the mollusk small and simple, but over time, they come out stunning!!! God's love does the same with us.
I believe the mollusk has a wonderful and artistic coping mechanism- don't you!?
Like Pearl fact #4, we are meant to become like our Maker.
I hope next time you see a Pearl you will smile!! :o)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
i like number 4
it reminds me of people too
The Pearls of Great Price: You & I
Love it!
Here's looking at you. - Q
Okay, so you are on pearls and I was on laundry. This morning, this very morning, I was thinking about laundry.
I was thinking if you put a whole load of big heavy towels in the washer, that you could end up with that horrible thump thump thump and a mobile washing machine that is out of balance. However, when you mix items of all sizes, it is less likely to get out of balance.
Pearls, laundry, I guess as long as we get the point, right! We are all special and God loves each of us and has a plan for our lives that will give us an abundant life!
Wow. That was beautiful. I love how you can take something simple and use it to tell more about your relationship with Christ. All the facts about the pearls were really interesting too.
pearl of gold? which is more precious to you?...considering the gold index these days ofcourse :)
Whew! Go to your blog and you enroll in school!
Post a Comment