Reason #821
I love flowers. Flower and sweets. Two things that should never be thrown out until they have completely lost their purpose. I’ll keep a cake in my fridge for as long as I can eat it. And cookies, well, when they start to dry out a little, just microwave them and quickly eat them with a glass of milk and you've got it made. Flowers are the same. I’ll pick out the dead ones until the bouquet is non-existent rather than throwing it out when the first flower wilts. In my opinion, flowers and sweets are worth keeping around as long as possible because their purpose is too good to go to waste.
Today, I salvaged a bunch of flowers leftover from an event that was held at work last night. They were waiting to go in the trash, and some had already started to wilt from spending the night out of water. I picked out the living ones, stuffed them in a coffee mug with some fresh water, and proudly displayed them on my desk. They looked fabulous! I don't know if they'll be alive on Monday, but they definitely brightened up my Friday.
As I organized my little homemade bouquet, I thought about how the Lord is so good to salvage His people. I mean, really, we've all been there. Thrown out and just sitting there, wilting away. We've been deemed worthless, not needed anymore. And I kind of know how that feels. Unwanted, no longer appreciated, no longer desirable. So you sit and wait, maybe in despair, because you didn't think the end would come so soon. You thought your time would last a little longer. But it didn't, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Yet God comes along and He notices us sitting in the "trash" pile. He sees the beauty that exists. He sees the life that is still there, even if it is barely hanging on. He recognizes the potential and He has a plan. Sure, it might not be the plan you thought, but God has a plan to salvage you. A way that He will restore and redeem you. A way to use you even if it is different than you imagined. Because you were made for a purpose. That purpose very well may have changed drastically for you, but not for the Lord. He had a purpose for you from the start. It's not a "back-up" plan or the next best thing, it's perfect and it's divine and, even though this wasn't what you envisioned, He will use it to fulfill His purpose for you. You aren't worthless. You aren't useless. You aren't insignificant or unnecessary. You are redefined, repurposed, and divinely salvaged for greater things.
And so I praise God for loving us enough to give us second chances. For giving us a purpose through our failed plans. For picking us up and restoring us so that we can be used in mighty ways to bring glory to His name. Thank you, Jesus, for seeing our value, for rescuing us, and for redeeming our lives so that they do not waste away.
#821 - For the beauty He brings from salvaged lives.
"In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." - Psalm 71:2-3