I have this good friend who makes fun of me. (Now, I know how wrong that sounds, but I know you have those friends too.) I think she makes fun of me because she is secretly jealous of one of my hidden talents. Ladies, you know how it is when your decorating tastes change but your pocketbook just doesn’t allow for all new decorations? Well, that’s how my hidden talent was discovered. Turns out I am great at using a can of spray paint!
My friend came over to my house one day. As she looked around, she would say, “Is that new?” Time and time again I would answer, “No, it’s old. I just spray painted it.” It didn’t take long for her to start making fun of me, and after I heard myself say it over and over again, I even made fun of myself. Now whenever she is with me and I pick up something she will say, “What are you going to do with that, spray paint it?”
I guess the thought of re- purposing something and not wasting money on something unnecessary is a good idea to me. Of course, my husband would vouch loudly about the fact that I like new things as well; however, giving old items a new look is a challenge I do enjoy. I like to know that something that appears unwanted can become useful again, it can regain its value but for a new reason. I think that’s a lesson that’s good to remember for decorating and for living too. Sometimes we have to allow God to remake our lives with a new purpose in mind. One we couldn’t see on our own even if we tried. We can only imagine our lives with one specific purpose, but God looks at us with eyes that see all possibilities. “Oh, what he could do!” or “Wow, how I could use her!”
Re-purposed. I kind of feel as though that is synonymous with my life story these last few years. If I compare myself to a treasure in my house, I’m certainly more like an old item than a new one. So many days I have felt dated and worn, like I had lost my purpose and my value had depreciated. But God. He has a way of seeing past those scraps and dents, and He lovingly helps us find a new way to be useful again. Just like an item that most people would toss away and not think twice. God has a way of using those scratches and dents for something meaningful and important giving us a new chance at life again. That’s me. An old life given another chance for a new purpose. That’s Holt too. A life that had one purpose in the past but now given a new one. Re-purposed for God’s glory and totally covered by His love.
Last week I revealed a little, yet important, secret to you. I am going to attempt to write a book that shares Holt’s story. Please pray for me; this will be no small task. It’s not easy to relive and rethink about events and feelings that I have tried hard to forget. But knowing that God has allowed some great things to come from Holt’s life, and those things are worth sharing, gives me strength to face those fears. Gives me strength to believe that through God new purposes really are possible.
I am thankful today that God has the talent to re-purpose our lives when we cannot see past our disappointments and failures, and I am so very thankful to have had a son like Holt Rowland who lived the kind of life on earth that it is worth writing about.
