Turning Junk into Good Stuff

Most hopeful people have suffered.

Because of the severe chapters in their lives, they no longer rest their confidence in their own abilities. That is what suffering and hardship do to us. We are forced to lean more on God, less on ourselves. (Some abandon God because of suffering, believing God is authoring their hardships.)

Essentially, when we rely on ourselves, we know deep in our hearts that what we are relying on isn't very substantial, very strong. When life gets tough, and we are no longer able to be in control of it, we are forced to look around. And when we reach out and rely on God, we get on solid ground. Then we can have hope in all situations. Hope is the assurance that there is goodness, love, meaning, and purpose in life. That all comes from God through Jesus' love in our hearts. He will never leave us or forsake us.

So here is the kernel of the fascinating, mysterious miracle God wants us to be working at in ourselves.

It's the miracle of the compost pile. It takes ordinary everyday garbage and turns it into rich growth-producing soil. We are urged and called to become deep people, people who can build hope out of the unwanted messes we face. We can, and must, raise monuments to our sufferings and sorrows for the growth and hopefulness that, with the Lord's help, can be produced in us by the hard and heartbreaking parts of life.

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