From Trash To Treasure

I have a problem. I maintain that it’s a good problem, but still… a problem.

It’s hope.

Hope is my problem.

I can’t stop hope.

I can’t look at someone or something and write them off as a lost cause.

This morning, I took a truckload of crap that’s been cluttering up my yard for way too long to the dump. Why did I have all this stuff laying around? Hope. That rotted railroad tie might be useful for something… If I can get a few more Christmas tree trunks, I could make something… That block of scrap wood could be turned into a… something. It’s not bad enough that I’ve let all this stuff clutter up my yard/patio/garage/shop/etc. It’s worse.

As I was loading up, trying to maneuver 8 feet of waterlogged timber into place, I stopped to evaluate if I REALLY needed to get rid of it. As I was holding this filthy, heavy, rotting corpse of something once useful, I (I’m not making this up) stopped and stood for several seconds trying desperately to find some legitimate justification for NOT dumping it! I have a problem.

I can’t see trash.

Oh, I can look at it. But I always see more. I always see potential for something else. As frustrating as this can be (just ask my wife) in the “workshop”, when it comes to people, I’m glad I have this problem. It’s allowed me to see beyond the Facebook facade and the haze of smoke and the hard stares and razor scars and blank eyes and concealing hoods and accolades and great test scores and smiles and makeup and so many other things that have concealed some of the amazing students I’ve known and grown to call friends. Hope has somehow let me see what could be, not just what was.

God can always change what was. I may not ever get around to making “something” out of the debris (let’s just call it what it is) that I’ve held on to, but I believe with every fiber of my being that God can bring hope to any situation. I’ve watched it happen. He can pick up the filthy, rotting corpses of our lives and breathe new life into our lungs. He can breathe hope anywhere…

even in homes wrecked by alcohol and drugs and the abuse that so often comes with them.

even in journalists that can’t seem to agree on what facts are actually facts.

even in election cycles that drag on forever and divide us from each other.

even in families mourning the tragic loss of a child.

even in war ravaged nations and villages.

even in Orlando.

even in me.

This world is so broken. Humanity is so in need of hope. Would you let Him breathe hope through you today? Look through the clutter and noise, find someone who’s hurting or hiding or just in need of someone who will really SEE them, then hope. You just might get to watch transformation take place before your very eyes!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.