SHABBY CHIC

All my friends know that I LOVE to repurpose anything.  The fancy name these days is "Shabby Chic".  Recently when I hauled 2 pallets to my Father in laws wood shop and asked him to help me put them together to make an outdoor table he looked at me like I had 3 eyes!  To him all he saw was, in his own words, " A stack of old pallets"  But to me I saw an awesome outdoor table that was gonna cost me nothing and recycle something that was no longer usable.

There are days I would like to be recycled into something else.  I think maybe the one thing that needs to be recycled in my life is the woman who stares back at me from the bathroom mirror each morning.
Am I the only one who looks at herself sometimes and think, "So many flaws, so little time!"? Maybe I could be hauled away and bring back as someone nicer.  More spiritual.  Immuned to PMS and moodswings.  Better at housekeeping.  A size 9 body. Just kidding on that last one!

 In fact, if I could pick one thing for GOD to change about me -- one thing for him to recycle into something better -- the thing I'd ask for is a really nice helping of faith.  I'd love to be able to trust him more.  I'd love to stop second guessing all the stuff he allows into my life.  I'd love to stop asking ,"But why, Lord?" and start asking, "What?" and, "How?" as in,  "Okay, so what do you want me to learn from this?" or "How can you use this in my life and in the lives of the folks around me?"  I think that's what I'd want.

I'm talking like getting "recycled" like it is a fictional concept, when really it's something the Lord does really, really well.  Why else would we use the words like "born again" or why would the Bible call us "new creations"  to describe what happens when someone decides to follow Jesus?  Why else does the Bible say that, through our relationship with Jesus, "old things have passed away and all things become new"?
Truth is, the Bible is overflowing with promises of new beginnings and second chances.  Over and over, it tells us stories of folks just like me and you getting to live new and improved lives because a relationship with Jesus is transforming(or recycling) us into something we can never be on our own.

"Okay, Lord, I'm all yours.  Change me!"  I will admit these aren't the easiest words to say but, its a prayer that GOD would love to hear us all say and he is always ready to answer in the way that is best for me. To GOD we are never an "old stack of Pallets" that need to be trashed..  Sometimes we are just a stack of pallets waiting to be made into an outdoor table that is truly "SHABBY CHIC".  All we have to do is ask!!
To him the Glory,
DeAnne