Encouragement

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One man's junk is another man's treasure, so I've heard.

My husband and I went to a demolition yard yesterday in search of specific wood of a certain size to expand the outdoor verandah on our Australian home.

It is astounding to me the amount of junk, and treasure, that people throw away. Some with obvious thought as to home projects and such, and others with no idea what they are throwing onto a rubbish heap.

Although I'm not a hard-core craft-ish person who could take intricate wrought-iron ornamentation and turn it into garden or household finery, I wish I could. Looking at all the piles of discarded stuff made me want to take many and transform objects into points of interest in my home and yard and invite conversation about its history and renewed finery.

I admire those who can do such things.

While wandering among the piles of rubble, my thoughts turned toward what God, the ultimate Creator and Rescuer, can do, and does in each of us if we let Him.

I think of someone who means a lot to me who thinks he is damaged beyond repair and limited to a life of living in rubble. I think of myself who often feels like cast-off trash. One is not more valuable than the other in a demolition yard.

Don't most of us experience those thoughts and feelings at some point in our lives? Don't we all know the rejection of our friends, our family, our society and feel more at home in a rubbish pile? Those feelings may not last, but while they are there, it's not a fruitful emotion.

But I believe that God created us...all of us, no matter what our "used by" date or "badness"...for more than wallowing in a demolition heap.

He is the One who takes our worn out, dated, corrupted, used-up selves and refurbishes us.

The purpose? First and foremost, to show others His never-ending, never-give-up sort of love for each one of us, His children. In that vein, He heals us. And then, we go on to lead lives of peace, joy and satisfaction that only a Potter can give to a lump of clay. Only we can tell the story of how our Redeemer rescued us. No one can tell our story for us.

Psalm 18: 16, "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters."

Psalm 23: 1-3, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul."

Jesus' assignment to humankind is "...the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners...to comfort all who mourn...to bestow on them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendour." Isaiah 61: 1-3 (selected)

Here's to faith that God takes us out of our rubbish heaps and gives us joy and a life worth living with a crown of beauty... outside of the demolition pile.

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