nothing is wasted

my friend heard in her heart a word from God awhile back...

"nothing is wasted"

If we have been given the faith to believe that God is indeed sovereign, our entire perspective will be effective. 

All things will pass through the lens of redemption. All of every things collective histories will  somehow culminate in God"s Masterpiece. 

Our questions will change from "why is this happening" to "what am I to see"

At times we will see the answer to both;

Six years ago I was in the midst of my best snowboard run of my life at Mount Snow. I had just ridden the chair with a guy who had finally passed on to me how to really lay my ride out. 

...and then I was down so hard that when I finally had my wits about me I sat back down to use my back-country responder training to asses myself. I'm goofy foot so I hit hard on my right shoulder. I could barely move it.

I made it down to the base and sat. Out of nowhere one of my regular  Starbucks customers ( I was a Batista at the time) walked up to me out of the crowd and asked me to take a run with him. 

I explained I just took a hard hit but I would love to so we made plans to catch up the next run. I gathered myself up. I hurt, but I had a longing in my heart for over a year to share the story of God's Rescue with him so enduring the pain I went.

I took one run to meet up with him on the backside of the mountain. I went down on the same shoulder and we never met up. I am told that was the day I destroyed my shoulder, and that the second run is what did it. I drove home with an arm I could not move.

A few months back  I finished the tear completely putting a new canoe  I bought for my girls on top of my truck. It was a heavier boat than I was used to. It's a flat water family boat with a center seat where a portaging yolk "should"be. I gave the rest of my shoulder for my girls.

And today I was able to share the snow boarding story with two people in two separate parking lots. We spoke about the Good News of salvation, the redemptive suffering of Jesus, of Him bearing my pain and death. 

So, you see, nothing is wasted. God is not pleased with our suffering and pain. Like a Tanzanian wife, He uses everything for his family. May we all have the grace to do the same.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
 

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death —
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 

Nothing is wasted, even if it is broken