Thrifting

by Danielle Erwin

I have always admired people who can go thrift shopping.

Being able to take something that someone else deemed as junk, rehab it and give it a new use or a second showing is a talent that I just don’t have.

In my defense, I’ve tried it! I’ve gone into thrift stores and second hand shops on numerous occasions. Armed with my Pinterest account and my smart phone, you’d think I’d have some luck…yea, not so much.

Effective thrifting is just not my strong suite.

So I was downright shocked and amazed when God “thrifted” me. When I looked at my life, I always say my blunders…my faults, my mis-steps; every mistake I’ve ever made. I always knewthat even in the midst of my faults God could redeem me…I just never really believed that Hewould.

Imagine with me that you are one of those thrifty Pinterest women. You go thrifting and come upon a gorgeous piece of clothing, jewelry or a household item. You fall in love with it, not only for what it currently is but for what you believe and envision it can be. You purchase it and take it home, anxious to work your magic on it, restore it and show it off!

When you get it home and clean the item and have an opportunity to look at it more closely, you begin to see nicks and scrapes in it. Perhaps there are stains that won’t come out of the fabric or a funny seam or hemline. Rather than sighing in discouragement (like I know I would), your appreciation for the item grows even more.

You recognize that all the scrapes, stains, bumps and bruises make that item truly unique. You revel in the fact that no one else will have an item exactly like the one you have. Your mind fills with stories and imagined tales of how those scrapes, stains, bumps and bruises came to be.

When you’ve cleaned up and rehabbed the item to your liking, you sit back in admiration of the work you’ve done. You’ve taken an item that was otherwise discarded, lost and forgotten about and gave it a new purpose and a second chance.

One of my favorite saying by Patsy Clairmont is, “God uses cracked pots.”

We are all cracked pots.

We all have bumps, bruises, scars and stains from our past mistakes (and our current ones).

But God loves that about us.

I’m of the belief that God loves cracked pots and has a special place in His heart for cracked pots. Why? Because our scars and cracks show our desperate need for Him. If we could heal ourselves or rehab ourselves we would have no need for our Creator.

As soon as I stopped looking at my past and my mistakes as these horrible scars and stains on the fabric of my life, I had a new found appreciation and love for God. It took some time but I’ve grown to realize that the very scars and stains that I once despised have me unique. I now have an amazing testimony and the ability to reach women; specific women, all because of my scars.

Embrace your scars.

Embrace your wounds, your stains, your bruises…everything that reminds you of who you were or who you’re fighting to no longer be.

Remember, God uses cracked pots. He loves cracked pots.

He loves you.