I once dated a man who called me a pearl. He said I was "like a perfect, untainted pearl" and insisted that he couldn't be the perfect gentleman that (he thought) I thought he may have been. I knew he wasn't perfect, and neither am I. We both made mistakes. He is not undeserving of love, despite any claim of my "perfection" over his "imperfection." I accepted him and learned to love him, flaws and all.
The thing about a pearl is this: it is an imperfection. When the mollusk becomes wounded, damaged, or infected it surrounds its intruder (be it sand, shell or other debris) with a shiny, smooth substance in order to protect and to heal, thus creating what is known to be one of the most precious, delicate gems on the earth. It takes that damage and turns it into something beautiful. And that quality is something absolutely to be treasured.
As I discussed this with a psychologist friend of mine she posed the question: "What if you are the mollusk?" I thought about this..
I am an ordinary human being. I struggle, my faith falters, my heart has been broken a number of times. I've simply taken my past hurts and learned to transform the pain into rest, my heart into one that can love more deeply, and my character into one that is stronger. And this only by the grace of God, my living hope.
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:7
"...we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3b-4
All this to say, I am in a continual, beautiful process of healing. Thanks be to God.