God Doesn't Make Junk

Have you been making God smile? I have…some of the time. More than one time a day so that’s good. We can always do more though, can’t we? All of us have such a capacity to love if we choose to love. Most times it is very hard to forget the hurts of the past though. Have you discovered that too? You are going along and BAM something or someone crosses your path and suddenly your world forever changes. You can’t go back but you can’t go forward either. You’re stuck in a limbo-like state. That’s when you really need God.

Do you let disappointment or failure derail you? Or do you learn from it? Most times I am not a quick study. I need to be bashed more than a few times before my thick skull is penetrated. And I guess that’s OK; that’s how God made me. Remember that old saying about God not making junk? Well, that’s all well and good when you are rationalizing about yourself: “I’m not so bad because God doesn’t make junk.” You pump yourself up to feel better.

But what about the other people in your daily path? Are they junk? Did God make them? Well then, there’s your answer. But it’s so hard sometimes – really, really hard. Do you have a co-worker who drives you absolutely nuts? A family member? A fellow church member, even? Do they push all the right buttons to make you crazy on a regular basis?

Here’s an added challenge to accompany your April commitment: next time you see that “special” person dig deep within yourself, look deeply within them and try your level best to find out what God could possibly like about them. There’s got to be something. Keep looking and looking until you find it (or until they think you are a looney tune and run away). Either way – you tried.

Remember: God really does not make junk. He makes people very different from ourselves, that’s all. We like the likable. We like the familiar. We like what makes us happiest, not what makes us work the hardest. We are most comfortable around these types of people. Why wouldn’t we be? So don’t beat yourself up as you enjoy the company of your best friends. Just don’t slam the door in the face of another. It takes less energy to let the door stay open than to slam it to smithereens. Take it from a door slammer from way back. Nothing gives such satisfaction as slamming a real solid wooden door to emphasize a point. Just be sure one of God’s own is not on the other side.

~ Maureen :)