Looking for pearls

January 5, 2014


Disappointments are difficult to handle, especially when you are counting on something, and looking forward to it. I had a big disappointment this weekend. It's so cold here, minus four this morning, and it was tempting just to climb back in bed and try to somehow hibernate through the cold, through the disappointment, through the Christmas-is-over letdown. I managed to push myself to make my bed and get dressed, but a heaviness still enveloped me.

 I came downstairs to find that my son and daughter had made a big pancake breakfast for us. We spent time just talking and sharing and enjoying the meal and our hot coffees. Gradually I began to feel a little better. My husband suggested we go to a movie in the afternoon, and then out to dinner. And now it's late evening and I'm in front of the fire thinking about Mick Jagger . . . 

No, you can't always get what you want
No, you can't always get what you want
No, you can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime, you just might find,
You get what you need . . .

I didn't get what I wanted, but I did have a good day, and was able to be with two of my kids and my husband, and enjoy each others' company. And I didn't have to cook!

Disappointments aren't always followed by such nice days as I had. Sometimes there's just more disappointment. Or a day of slogging through, just trying to hang on to hope. 

It's the small things, even on a day heavy with sadness, that sometimes can get us through. A smile, a chickadee at the feeder, snow sparkling on a dark pine branch, a cat's soft purring. These moments I think are meant to be seen, deeply felt, and captured in our memories. Each one, if recognized and appreciated, can add up to a beautiful life, despite our sorrows. If we recognize these small blessings and acknowledge their importance in our lives, we might experience what one of my favorite childhood heroines did . . . 

“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” 


I still feel a bit sad and disappointed. But I can choose to focus on all the very good things in my life, and count my blessings, like pearls on a string.

Here are two necklaces -- one a simple strand of pearls, and the other a triple strand of freshwater pearls. I decided to try something with them recently . . . 


I laid them out flat and started at one end and twisted them together. They are both the same length so they worked perfectly together. 




I hooked them each separately together, et voila! A "new" necklace. I thought this looked quite pretty together.


2 comments

  1. Totally relate to this, been trying to find the pearls of joy in the muck of life. Definitely helps your spirit to keep your eyes open for God's hidden blessings. Great post. My blog is at www.sweetlybrokengirl.blogspot.com.

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  2. thank you for coming to visit, and encouraging me as a new blogger. I will check out your blog.

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