Let God show you all the potential you possess
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: do you not perceive it?"
- Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
I smiled to myself as I looked out the kitchen window. No one would ever believe the new, white table sitting on my patio was an old, rusted leftover.
Several years ago, Jeff hauled this rusted relic home. When I saw it, I asked, "What are you going to do with that?"
He expected me to greet this "treasure" he found with the same enthusiasm he had for it. However, Jeff's talent has taught me that he has a knack for turning trash into treasures.
He took that rusty table and sanded down the metal, smoothed out the chipped edges, and covered it over with a nice, clean, white finish. It looks just like new. I am delighted as I look at my bright patio table.
Sometimes we feel cracked, chipped and broken by the circumstances of our lives. Our job skills become outdated or unmarketable and we face giving up a job we loved. To learn something new or start over seems impossible.
We carry old remnants from our past relationships that we'll never get over. We start to view ourselves the same way.
I viewed my old patio table as fragmented and useless at first sight. But we can't get into self-pity. There's no power to move forward with that mindset.
Many people in the Bible felt the same way. The prophet Elijah suffered from depression after a great victory. He probably thought his career was over. God restored each of these people, as they were willing to change their ways and turn to God for strength to move forward.
God doesn't throw us away because we feel broken by disappointment. He wants us to bring new things into our lives. He is waiting to show us hidden treasure that is still within us, just as my husband had a vision for that old relic. Let us open our mind to God and let him show us the potential we possess.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She will be speaking at the Church of The Holy Spirit in Schaumburg on Wednesday, May 15. For details, call Nancy at (847) 894-7931. Annettee can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.