More Than Junk

On my nightstand there is a pile of scraps that my daughter arranged into a special sculpture just for me. You see she has a knack for picking up junk with the desire to later craft it together into a masterpiece. Often times I discourage this habit because it means I find bottle caps, string, nails, candy wrappers, and all sorts of unattractive stuff lying around the house or in the car. And with that admission I realize I may have just taken myself out of the running for World's Greatest Mother. So let's continue ... What my daughter sees as pieces to a brilliant piece of art, I see as a heaping pile of trash. Wow, what a creative optimistic genius I am! On the bright side, I bet you are feeling better about yourself right now, huh? It is worth saying that I do not see my sculpture as trash because I know the heart from which it came.

So what is all this about?  I had a day (ok, a string of days) that I felt like junk. You know the uncool parent, the unaccomplished adult, the unproductive servant, and well just plain ill. Then, on my nightstand, I found a note from my husband highlighting my worth; reminding  me that even though my days had not been as joyous and easy as hoped for, I was on the right path, and I was making a difference. That resolved it! My husband said it so it was true; no questions asked. Problem solved ... until next blog. Yeah, so that isn't completely the truth.  There was a letter. It was nice and made me smile, but truth is, he is my husband and adores me even with my flaws. You remember that sculpture, the one made from the junk I usually discourage my daughter from gathering ... Yeah that one!  There it too lay on my nightstand, and as I looked at it, these words filled my mind' "you are not junk."  What I feel like junk?!? My kids clearly do not like my rules, my big plans are fill filled with potholes, and my accomplishments aren't impacting the world. Then  the words came with more force "You are NOT junk." Huh? Really? And then the understanding:

Sure we have all been challenged by life, some of us even left in pieces, some dreams unfulfilled and some bad choices that linger, but the truth is that if the broken unattractive pieces are picked up and arranged by the right artist our junk can be a masterpiece. For me that artist is Jesus Christ. He has picked up the pieces and reminds me that I am not junk.

Ephesians 2:10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

And as for my passionate little girl ... She now has a collection bag and will begin putting her findings together into a masterpiece.

You are a masterpiece in the making,
Shante