Pearl Merchant

"I am going away," he said one morning to his wife. "Again." She sighed, reliving long months of uncertainty. "Yes," he said, not hearing the loneliness in her voice. "And I've made some arrangements for you while I'm gone." "Arrangements?" anxiety welled up within her. "You'll be staying with your parents this time. I…er..." he paused. "I've sold everything." The silence stretched out between them; a long dark road. "Everything?" she said, waving her hand in an all-inclusive gesture. "Everything." "Are you coming back?" "Yes, and we'll be richer than anyone in the city. Richer than anyone in the province." the pitch of his voice rose with his excitement. "The king will invite us to dinner. You'll be the social center of the nation. We'll have everything we have an more." "You sold everything?" "Yes, yes, now let me explain." His voice droned on but she did not hear. Her anger boiled over. "You sold everything? Why, why? If you get..." her voice trailed off. "We'll have nothing." "But I tell you we will have everything." "You've said that before.” "Well, I admit my plans have been thwarted in the past. But that was not my fault. I got cheated last time. The time before..." "....someone robbed you." she finished for him. "Go." she said, her voice flat with resignation. *** He stood in the doorway of her parent's home; His face caked with road dust; his hair was matted and greasy. stains on his robe marked the myriad roadside inn meals. There was no sign of his camel. "I'm back." he said. "I see that," she said, trying to keep the sarcasm from her voice. "And...?" she left the single word hang in the air. "And we're rich beyond measure." he said. "But...." From under his cloak he withdrew a small bag. He opened it and motioned for her to hold out her hand. He tilted the bag and into her palm rolled a pearl. It was not large, but sunlight from the window melted into a delicate iridescence; a dream of a rainbow. On its shaded side, it glowed with a warm translucent halo of diffused sunlight. "It's beautiful." she breathed. "It took all we had." he said. Its name is "the Pearl That Costs Everything." "it is that well known?" "Yes, among the pearl merchants." "But what good will it do us?" she said. You've sold everything we have. Selling this will only get us back what we had before. I don't see the gain in that." "Ah, but this pearl is not meant to be sold again." "Kept?" she looked into his face, puzzled. "But if we keep it, it won't do us any good either. We can't eat it. We can't wear it. We can't live in it." "That's where you're wrong. You can eat it-it is food indeed. You can wear it-it is clothing beyond anything you can imagine. It is the largest palace you can ever think of and ten times more." "I don't understand," she said. "The Pearl is all." he said, reaching to take it from her cupped palm. "The Pearl is all. It is, itself, all we will ever need." *** God is not just loving; He IS love. God not only gives mercy; He IS mercy. God is not only good; He IS goodness itself. He not only gives good gifts; He IS very Gift. God not only gives salvation; He IS salvation. God is more than gracious; he IS grace. God is not only...but IS… Whatever the need, He does not just give the antidote; he IS the antidote. 8 26 09