God, The Ultimate Recycler

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I am not the world's greatest recycler. I blame it on PBS. My kids were very young when this whole recycling thing was reaching its political correctness and every program they watched encouraged them to make things out of trash, consequently I could never throw anything away! Talk about TV giving our kids suggestions we don't want them following!

I am amazed though how God recycles things for His own glory. This isn't a new concept and I've seen it most recently in Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life where he says, "God never wastes a hurt! In fact your greatest ministry may come out of your greatest hurt."
It's not spiritual rocket science but still...

I wrote "He's just not that into you" yesterday out of a heart that's been dealing with disappointment for a week and looking for answers. These have ranged from rationalization - that it's not that big of a deal, to determination - just suck it up, deal with it and move on, to just acknowledging that it hurts, to prayer ranging from "why?" and "what now?" and "what is your purpose in this?" and then to that passage of scripture in Zeph. 3:17

"The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will rejoice over you with singing."

I've posted this above my sink (where I spend way too much time) and am currently stuck on the first phrase - The Lord your God is with you - and what that means to and for me.

Several have commented to me on how that post was good timing for them and I sit here dumbfounded that God would take my own personal hurt and have something good come of it.

A concept is just a concept to me, something I can give intellectual assent to,but when I know something is true because of personal experience, it moves from paper and into my heart.

God doesn't waste a hurt.
I still can't or won't say I'm happy this happened to me...
but this kind of recycling is way more impressive than making maracas out of milk containers!

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