irritations

PRECIOUS PEARLS OF PRUDENCE

(September 20, 2024) Mama Lava shares some precious insights…

Are you familiar with the origins of pearls? I admit I was a bit mistaken in what I thought I knew.

Did you know it’s not a scratchy bit of sand which typically begins the process? A pearl is more commonly a mollusc’s defensive reaction to a parasite.

Natural History Museum informs us that —
‘Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body. The oyster or mussel slowly secretes layers of aragonite and conchiolin, materials that also make up its shell. This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusc from it. When pearls are cultured commercially an irritant is manually inserted into a mollusc to promote the production of mother-of-pearl. Nacre can form naturally around almost any irritant that gets inside the shell, creating some very unique and precious pearls.’

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IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS

(November 23, 2022) Mama Lava shares from her heart… about heavy hearts!

Hello, my precious readers, how are you going today?

Me? Okay… but I can recall sometime back feeling heavyhearted. I think I encountered too many little things without taking the time to process them with the Lord. And it occurs to me that I might not be the only one and maybe we can encourage each other to work through our little things before they grow any more burdensome.

When something big happens, most of us know we need to stop and pray and proceed with care. When it is a little thing, it doesn’t seem as necessary.

But… too many little things can end up weighing more than a big thing and we end up with a heavy heart.

What are these little things?
What kind of little things are we talking about? Any small grievance or irritation can hang around if we don’t deal with it.

Think about a grain of sand, or a kernel of rice. They are so small and insignificant that carrying them takes no effort. But when they pile up they are heavy!

Here’s a few examples from a beach trip that my husband, Michael, and I enjoyed some time back. It was a wonderful time…  except for a handful of little things. They would hardly be noticeable, except that they were added to an already heavy pile I had growing in my heart!

Four little things from that beach weekend…

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