With a smile, the young woman waved a small square of paper scraps neatly clipped together. This, she declared, was all the waste she produced in a month.
It required a series of well-planned steps, including buying in bulk using recycled containers and reusing items most of us would toss without a second thought. She was doing her part to reduce what winds up in our nation’s landfills.
Her efforts are admirable, but hardly original. God perfected this concept more than 2,000 years ago!
Romans 8:28 tell us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
That’s right: not one heartbreak, not one tear, not one soul-baring wail is wasted in His hands.
It certainly doesn’t feel productive when we are awash in pain. When the cancer doesn’t go away. When the bills can’t be paid. When the child won’t come home.
But when we cling to Jesus – sometimes by our fingertips – we remind ourselves that our heavenly Father knows our hurt and will put it to good use. How? We may never know precisely where it fit into His perfect plan, but we can rest assured that, somewhere among the loose threads and matted snarls, He lovingly placed it in the tapestry of our lives.
