A hobby of mine is finding and re-purposing things that have been discarded as junk. We have all been confronted with those items in our possession, that no longer serve their purpose, have lost their luster, charm and allure. It’s time to replace them with something new, modern, trendy and let’s admit it there’s a certain satisfaction about pealing a price tag off of your new treasure, that you just pulled out of the shopping bag. However, I have discovered that for me, it lacks a certain creativity that I only get from junking. As they say “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” and that is certainly the truth in this case. Looking beyond the rust, chipped paint, dented and often disfigured pieces is half of the motivating challenge, the other part is imagining what possibilities and new purpose it could have. More times then not it is resurrected with more personality, charm and attraction. The average passerby often stops to take a look and says “how creative, I used to have this part but threw it out, not thinking it could be used for anything else. If I had known I would have kept it”.
Recently some friends bought a home to demolish and allowed me to go in and take whatever I wanted. Their comment “It’s just junk and we don’t want anything from that dump”. My thoughts “Sweet…when can I go”!!! I found some really cool items and my creative juices were going as fast as the electric screwdriver I was using. I couldn’t wait to get home and start.
That statement and being at the home made me think of another kind of junk. The type that I seem to currently have a lot of in my life (strong willed child, marital, self satisfaction, financial, health, etc.). As you know most junk takes a while to become junk. It doesn’t just appear that way over night, it often takes years to manifest. Even though you may occasionally do a light cleaning and mending of issues. For example: seeing a counselor here and there, having one of those all out, stand up, arms flailing, eyes rolling conversations to get each others points across (while nothing is ever truly settled), or reading a self help book that you put down after the 5th chapter and never pick up again. It still doesn’t touch the underlying cracks, that if not addressed and continually tended to will eventually become like an illusive spider’s web that takes over every corner of your heart and your life preying on the unexpected…you. Before you know it, you are entangled in a mess that you never saw coming.
Lately I’ve felt like cleaning house and getting rid of the things that I once treasured and am now considering “junk”. It’s funny how that can sneak up on you. I’ve been challenged by scripture, good friends and family to look beyond the brokenness, that it’s not what has been done to me but what He has done for me. To stay focused on the true treasures in life, because even the new things that bring joy will become old and viewed as useless in time.
I think it’s time for God and I to go junking; to re-purpose the struggles, burdens, idols and lies in my life, to allow them to be made into “a one of a kind” piece of work. Ones that I can be proud of and others will look at and say “I want that”. I hope I’m up to the refining process? There’s usually a lot of scraping, pounding and bending before a new shape, a new purpose is revealed. I know if I can hang in there, the end result is going to be a true conversation piece.
