|Every Thing for a Purpose and a Purpose for Every Thing|
It’s such a good thing that labels come on the items and products we buy. We know what’s in a can of peaches because it says so on the label. Even if it hasn’t bloomed yet, we know what kind of trees we’re about to spruce our yards up with because of the label hanging from the young branch. If only we were born with such labels. I consider it an unfortunate fortune that we do not.
In a conversation with my daughter recently, we discussed talents and patterns of behavior we share, how differently they manifest, and their purposes. I dream a lot! They are very vivid, and I always believe that dreams are the way God chooses to talk to me because while I’m sleeping is the only time I’m guaranteed not to have anything to say in response. I would say the same for my chatty daughter as well as she is also a dreamer.
In our discussion, I shared that my dad also dreams. To this, my daughter says, “Oh, so that’s why God made him your dad; so you would have the dreams and use them for God”. It was stated very casually, but it wasn’t received that way. Suddenly, I could see a well-known piece of scripture in active parts.
God’s word says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). As a person raised without her mother and father, it has been easier to see them both through hurt and abandoned eyes. I cannot, however, ignore the fact that God wastes nothing! For all their wrongs as parents, that’s not all they are. My dad is a very intelligent man, full of fantastic ideas, and insanely hilarious. My mother is musically gifted, and even her speaking voice commands attention. On her best day, she is gentle of heart and quite charming. Many of the qualities listed have been gifted to me and inherited by my daughter, seemingly by simple genetics. God is not simple in His intentions, though. Everything He does has a purpose.
In spite of all the things that can disrupt or destroy a parent/child relationship, nothing stands in the way of God accomplishing His will. As believers, we do not have to be the sum of our painful experiences. If we believe in the grace, mercy, and sovereignty of God, then we also have the luxury of believing that He indeed has plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He is faithful to make them happen (Philippians 1:6). Believing these truths is what makes it safe for us to accept the good in the midst of the bad.
Unfortunate circumstances will always exist, but how fortunate are we that we have a Father who looks ahead of us and paves our way through this life, letting nothing go to waste…not even our suffering. For in our suffering, we are being conditioned to use the good things given to us with responsibility. We get to learn how to use our voices, hands, and even our dreams by the words and the might of the Master who created us.
We are not born with labels because we are not yet complete until God has completed His work in us. The most beautiful part is that His work in us began before we were ever born. To that, I am not only grateful to God for being so intentional in His design of me. I am also compelled to say, “Thanks, Ma and Dad…just as you are”.
In text references:
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) “ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”