Dear Reader, are you a DIYer or thrifter? Do you enjoy making discoveries in unlikely places that can be repurposed for giving? As we were brainstorming about a new project recently, Tom laughed and said, “It’s all about the hunt!” (Maybe we’re not so far removed from our hunter/gatherer ancestors as we like to think.)
Several years ago a young colleagure delighted me at Christmas with a one of a kind tea cup candle with wrapped candies scattered on the saucer.
Tom and I spent the next year searching for unique tea cups to create Christmas gifts for the mostly female coworkers in his office. I’m not sure who was blessed more by the orphaned cups that we repurposed for giving.
In the last couple of years, were you one of the millions who were forced to repurpose your life during the pandemic, Dear Reader?
Our son, James, has spent most of his life giving through his music. From worship arts director, to high school show choir coach, to arranging, he’s spent his life curating and cultivating music for others to enjoy. At the tender age of 38, he had dedicated his life to being a musician for 25 of them.
Last year, as someone working in a gig economy, he, too, was forced to repurpose his life . . . and now James has become a successful chandler (candle maker). What?
It didn’t take long for James to realize and appreciate how many of the skills he’d learned as a gig artist translated into a whole new field. He says after years of creative, but intense work in music, he was ready for a change.
And this mama was so proud to see her son in action at a market, and how every single visitor at his booth left smiling (and typically with a purchase). It made me wonder who’s more blessed when their lives are repurposed for giving.
Have you noticed, Dear Reader, that Scripture recounts transitions of many individuals the Lord repurposed for giving. Does Moses ring a bell? The guy who went from prince of the realm to savior of a nation?
What about Balaam? The Lord was forced to use a talking donkey to get Balaam’s attention and onto the straight and narrow.
And don’t forget Paul and his spiritual detour on the road to Damascus. Or Priscilla, and hubby, Aquila, a.k.a. Italian tentmakers, who become gospel sharing globetrotters with Paul.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 MSG
Since starting the Buddy Bag Project last fall in partnership with City Union Mission (of Kansas City), I’ve thought a lot about repurposing. Our recent women’s event further affirmed the desperation of the mission’s “guests”, and the devotion of the staff to repurpose lives for giving.
I think their dedication to more, better (fill-in-the-blank) is blessing me at least as much as we are hoping to bless them. There’s just no end to God’s grace and giving, is there, Dear Reader?)
In case you missed it a couple of weeks ago, here are a few highlights of lives being repurposed for giving at the Betty Bag women’s event in May.
