LIFE RIGHT NOW ◽ YOU
Meet Mildred.
Isn’t she purty? We’ve been spending a lot of time together since I brought her home. And since we’ve been catching stolen moments, uncovering her beauty, I thought she deserved a proper name. Mildred.
You see, Miss Mildred was cast aside. Left on the curb - rusty brown and forgotten. Discarded with a hastily written free sign taped across the front. Who would do such a thing? <gasp>
Oh, who indeed. How often have we felt like Mildred? Cast aside. Left alone. Forgotten. Maybe it’s the slow drifting release of a once tight friendship. A prayer not yet answered. Or the death of a loved one. These things leave us wondering why. Screaming WHY! Why have we been suddenly tossed to the curb? At a time like this we may feel abandoned by God. We even cry out asking Him, “Why have you forgotten me?”
Does questioning God indicate a lack of faith? In Psalm 42:9 we read, “I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” Here we are reminded to go to God. We can take our raw emotions to him because he is our rock. We don’t need to hide our feelings because he can handle our sad. He can handle our mad. Our confusion. This verse also shows us to give our feelings of isolation and sorrow to God, despite feeling forgotten. When our enemy is a circumstance of life that’s left us feeling alone, we can put our hope in God. Calling to God can be an authentic act of faith.
So, there was Mildred on the side of the road. Abandoned. Likely by circumstance of a family doing a little spring cleaning. I immediately pulled over, scooped her up, and brought her home, hopeful to uncover her lost beauty. I’d planned to paint her (like two other freebie curbside benches I’d recently revived), but when I began cleaning her up, this gorgeous, imperfectly perfect 1950’s teal color appeared. Whaaaattt? Beneath the gloomy brown was a tickled teal waiting to be discovered again. Oh, Mildred, you’ve stolen my heart.
Removing the rust takes time (and lots of elbow grease). She’s stubborn. And if Mildred could talk, she’d probably question my ability to transform her. I still have a ways to go with her before her true beauty is revealed, but…if God can transform our skeptical, discarded hearts, I can turn this tired, forgotten chair into a treasured patio piece.