It all began when my husband came home from a trip to New York City with a dragonfly lamp. Since then I have accrued quite a collection. Not just dragonfly lamps, but dragonfly stuff! I have necklaces, bracelets and pins, purses and shirts, bookmarks and magnets, and other various dragonfly doodads. Even my checkbook features dragonflies. I have a ‘thing’ for dragonflies! So when I was visiting my daughter in Hastings, MN and saw this unusual sculpture of a dragonfly I had to take a picture:

The man who created this work of art used scrap metal and other old materials to make something special and unique. He gave something that had been discarded a new purpose!

There is a restaurant in Lewiston, NY located by the Niagara River called The Silo. It’s called that because that is what it is. (Or should I say was?) Back in the1930’s the area was popular because of The Great Gorge Railway and the silo held the coal that fueled the trains. With the demise of the railroad, the silo lost its purpose. But someone had an idea and turned it into something wonderful! When I recently had lunch there, I picked up a pamphlet about the restaurant and discovered that much of the seating in the restaurant was made from old refurbished church pews.

The last line of the pamphlet reads: “The Silo itself, and the old train caboose now serving as the ice cream bar, have been rescued, recycled, and repurposed!” I like that word ‘repurposed’.

Sometimes life gives us the unexpected. And when it does, the unexpected can change the direction of our life or bring us to a dead end where we are left with questions and uncertainty. When the unexpected is a tragedy or difficulty, we may feel betrayed or discarded or lost. When the job we relied on is suddenly gone or the position we expected is given to another, we spend restless days and nights in worry. When a physical affliction or a dreaded disease strikes, we fret with fear and anxiety. When we lose a loved one and our life is forever changed, we wonder if it’s even possible to go on. And in all of this is the underlying question: What do I do now?

In the past few years my situation has changed and my role in life has been disrupted. With the death of my husband who had served as a pastor, I not only lost my mate, but I lost my role, my position and my home. At times I felt unneeded, useless and even discarded. It seemed I had lost my purpose in life. Have you ever felt that way? Like maybe you’re obsolete, like a piece of scrap metal or an empty silo.

In his book, What If It’s True, Charles Martin makes this beautiful observation, “The sovereign hand of God leaves me shaking my head, but gives me great hope. In His economy, nothing is wasted.” NOTHING IS WASTED!! What does this mean? He always has a use for you. He can take the scraps of your life and give them a purpose. When you think your purpose in life is over, He can and will give you a new purpose. You can be repurposed!

Romans 8:28 is a familiar verse: And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those that are the called according to His purpose. Notice that phrase according to His purpose. Not only does He work things out for good, but He does it with purpose. We can trust that God still has a use for us, no matter the circumstances. He gives us purpose! It’s a comfort to know that we still have purpose, but it is also a responsibility. We need to discover that purpose and pursue it! I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on… (Philippians 3:13,14-NLT)

Your life isn’t about what you’ve done. It’s about what you’re doing. –Bassa Mawen

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