Recycled, Repurposed, Redeemed

I am a junk collector. Smashed bottle caps, rusty washers, bits of broken jewelry, snuff can lids , nuts and bolts, locks and latches, watches that don’t work and keys with nothing to unlock – the more worn, aged, and scuffed these artifacts of everyday life, the better I like them.  Perhaps there is a sense in which I identify with these overlooked and trodden on bits, often feeling a bit worn and frazzled myself by the simple act of living. As I literally pull these promising resources out of the gutter, or dig them from their half buried repose in a gravel parking lot, I welcome them into my own journey of renewal.  I marvel at their tenacity in enduring the elements.  The hardships that led to a rusted and battered appearance perfectly suit them for a new purpose and calling.

As I pick through my treasures, handling them, turning them this way and that, looking for just the right piece for whatever I am creating, I ponder my own life.  I am worn and tattered.  What delightful loveliness does my Redeemer have for me to live into? I can imagine being turned this way and that, with a whispered invitation to be something more than what now is. Rather than mourn the marks and flaws of my own life worn condition, I look forward to how this life of mine will also be redeemed, renewed, re-created into an enchanting new design!  A recycled, repurposed, redeemed, ME!

Books, barrettes, bottles and bags all sporting redeemed embellishments!