Salvage Souls

After a very rough night, my husband and I are both sick, I almost gave up on posting.  All I wanted to do was curl up on my couch and watch some television and wallow in my sickness.  My guilty pleasures are shows about old cars and shows that take old items and repurpose them.  I love old rusty bits and forgotten treasures, I am a bit of an old soul that should have been born somewhere around the 1950's when life was a bit simpler I suppose.

And simpler would be nice, because on top of feeling under the weather, I am also helping my pre-teen daughter navigate the minefield of junior high.  This week she came home in tears twice because two of her peers were playing a little game of "she said, she said" and my daughter got caught in the middle.  After discussing the situation with her and finding out that she shared some of the blame, I instructed her to apologize and thus end the disagreement.  Though she did what I said, the banter continued and we discussed that trust is a big part of friendship and if she could not trust these two girls, it would be best if she did not continue spending large amounts of time with them.  It is hard to see your child struggle with these moments that make them feel less than what they truly are, and sadly this will not be her last introduction to rejection.  My goal is to teach her how to deal with these situations with strength, with dignity and with grace.  But, how do I help her understand what a treasure she is when people make her feel like junk?

All this thinking about junk, reminded me of one of the reasons why I love the used, forgotten, rusty treasures.  When I was young, dad would often take old metal scrap to a local salvage yard to sell.  It became a trip I often enjoyed taking with him.  He was friends with the owners and often while they "shot the bull" I would get a soda or another type of treat.  As time went by, I began to see those piles of scrap as piles of possibilities.

Ding, ding, ding, my "Aha" moment!  Aren't we all just God's big pile of worn out rusty bits?  When considering this, one particular story in the Bible came to mind.  To set the scene, the Israelites are being held in Egypt as slaves, God seeks to deliver His people from the hands of Pharaoh.  In walks Moses, stuttering and insecure, as God's choice to lead His people.  Moses, with the help of a man named Aaron, would walk God's people out of Egypt and part a sea in the process.

God doesn't make junk.  Your weakness is God's strength.  It is when we lean on God for our weaknesses that we see Him work in our lives most fully. It says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV,'But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'.   When we are strongest it is easy for us to believe we are doing it on our own, but it is in those moments when we are beaten and weary that He uses us and shows Himself in our lives.

Sometimes God has to change use to make us better.  There is an old saying, if you are not changing you are not growing. John 15:1-2 NIV says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes  so that it will be even more fruitful.".  Sanding the rusty parts, pounding out the dents of your life isn't a simple process or a painless process, but the end result is worth it.  There is beauty in the painful process of growth and change, it is where our most beautiful selves are made. 

Most of all, God is an artist, He can make you a masterpiece.  Isaiah 64:8 NIV says, "Yet you, Lord , are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand".  Whether He prunes you, molds you, or bends your will, He made you and can make you into all you were meant to be.  He will be your strength when you are weary, tired, sick, worn out and used up.  If He sees even the sparrow and makes sure it is fed, He is capable of providing food for your mind, for your body and for your soul.  So, when we think we are just salvage souls, He sees us repurposed into beautiful works of art. 

So, baby girl, handle the rejections of the world knowing that in Heaven you are treasured.  Your strength is found in God's arms, your grace is found in His forgiveness and your dignity comes from knowing you are God's treasure.