I have always loved taking something old and unused and making something new out of it. Several of my friends also do that, such as taking old furniture pieces and making something beautiful and useful out of them, and family using scraps of old shirts or clothing items and making lap quilts out of them. Grandma Smith used to make quilts out of scraps of material that she had used for making other things over the years. She made a small baby quilt for one of my daughters, and I loved recognizing the pieces she used and remembering what she had made out of the fabric. There are many memories attached to the repurposed items.
Memories are a part of appreciating what we have now. We can look back over our life and remember the good and bad parts and see how God has used them to teach us lessons along the way. He gives us many opportunities to grow from them and make our lives better, but it’s always our choice which way to use them. We can learn from them and let them make our lives better or we can just let them leave us bitter toward life and God.
We never had much money when I was growing up, but I had what I needed and took good care of it so that it would last. I always loved pretty clothes, and I took Home Ec. in
seventh grade and learned how to make my own skirts and how to read patterns. I loved doing that because then I could have just what I wanted. Fabric was pretty cheap then and it was fun to be able to sew, and it’s an ability that I have used all my life and one that I enjoy doing.
My dad taught me how to paint pictures, also, as he was an artist and carpenter. I spent a lot of time alone for several years because we lived on a mountain in Evergreen, Colorado, and only one other family lived near us. When I look back on those times, I can see how God put things together during our poorest times to equip me for opportunities in my own life to put things together during the ups and downs in our lives over the past 60 years together. He used my painting ability and love of clothes to allow me to be a wearable art designer for several years and have my clothes sold all over the United States and in Europe, and bring in the money we needed to help us get through some really tough times. And when the economy changed and we were OK again, God let me know it was time to quit and move into something else.
God is the Great Repurposer. He has equipped each of us with special gifts to get us through all the seasons of our life. He has taught us things over the years that we can use at different times of our life to get us through. We just need to realize that He has prepared us, and we must have the confidence to take a leap of faith and act upon the opportunities He presents us with. We have to continue to be flexible about change and willing to accept a new challenge when life isn’t working well for us. We always need to remember that He always wants what is best for us.
During the Covid years many things have changed. For over 30 years I have traveled to many states many times a year speaking for Christian Women’s Clubs and retreats. When those were no longer meeting, God gave me the opportunity to write this column for the paper and stop traveling. He was using me in a different way again, and I couldn’t be happier. He just keeps using the things He has taught me over the years in a different way.
God has prepared each one of us with the ability to make changes in life and repurpose the knowledge He has planted in us. He knows how best to use it for the times we are in. We just need to be alert, and available, and faithful, and teachable to Him throughout our lives. And, in order to trust Him completely, we need to be reading the Bible, spending time in prayer with Him, and learning how to follow His leading. I used to ask Him to make it obvious to me because I didn’t know what to look for, but now I know when He is leading me in a certain direction, and I just need to follow it and not be afraid. The more you know Him and spend time with Him, the easier it will get for you to follow Him completely. Remember, He only wants what is best for you, He is your Father.
Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Jeremiah 29:11 – ‘For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
