God Uses Everything

Part of the joy of my CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) is the regular acquisition of yumminess. From time to time, there are veggies that are new to me, or that come in abundance. As someone who really dislikes food waste, I do my best to find a use for all the things.

This week, that meant adjusting some meal planning to include a salad (the gorgeous lettuce has been ample!), dehydrating some spring onions, freezing some spinach, setting some time to shell the peas, etc. It also meant that the carrots that keep accumulating in the crisper needed a different solution than just piling up.

…and off to the recipe sites I went! As I write, I am enveloped by the gorgeous aroma of a roasted carrot and lentil curry simmering on the stove.

…and in the freezer is the to-be-stock bag, where I dropped in the carrot peelings and onion skins and pea shells and all the rest of the things that are not immediately edible. At some point later in the year, these will all get boiled down into a stock, which I then freeze in cubes for making winter soups and stews.

(Did I mention I dislike food waste? Also, I’m frugal?)
I try to use everything.

Which reminded me of a friend’s saying: God uses everything.

Everything in our lives can be an expression of the divine, a gift to us that is meant to be used. In some circumstances, that may be clear to us and others. Some may need to be preserved to a later date, at which time they can be enjoyed. In other times, it may take us some creativity to sort out a way to find the benefit. And still others may leave us feeling like we have nothing else to give – until suddenly something from the past offers a bout of extra support and nourishment.

But God uses everything. Nothing is useless, nothing is careless, nothing is wasted.

It’s up to us to spend some time considering what we have been given: the joys and benefits, of course; but also the challenges and struggles. God gives us the potential to use every experience in a way that will help express grace and love, peace and compassion.

We may not recognise it, we may not understand it, we may question the lesson or the timeline or even the point of it all: but God will use everything.

And what a joy when we can reflect and celebrate how God has used everything to bring us to where we are, and trust that we are being guided ever closer to the kin-dom.

 

Course Correction

In navigation, course corrections are common.

There may be detours, construction, or other major external factors that cause us to re-set that GPS on our way.

There may be internal factors that affect our journeys, like an empty fuel tank or lack of snacks, a missed turn, an intriguing looking roadside attraction.

Our course corrections could be intentional and proactive (avoiding a toll route, or sitting out a storm in safety) or unexpected and reactive (avoiding a deer in the road, or circumventing a hill that didn't show on the flat map).

Some of them will be substantial (in a canoe, turning sideways to avoiding getting swamped) or subtle (the canoeist in the stern being distracted by the view).

Course corrections are meant to be positive; an opportunity to adjust the direction of movement. There are situations where without a correction, an unanticipated negative outcome could occur. There are times when its responding to new information that renders the original plan in need of adaptation.

The reality of navigation, of course, is that course corrections are common: because they need to be. Without consistent monitoring, the path may not be as smooth as it could be, or we might get entirely off course, or the storms of life may cause us to sink into unescapable negative consequences (leading to a salvage mission instead of a directional re-assessment).

Course corrections are not massive changes; they are regular minor adjustments towards improving the experience. We may be surprised by unexpected opportunities or refined practices.

The journey of faith is also a pathway that necessitates navigating; and as such it benefits from being monitored and evaluated; to regularly assess our current course.

Our discussions with friends and colleagues, our devotions with prayer partners and church family, our discernment with spiritual director and sojourners… by choosing to be open to the nuance of the world around us, and the guidance of our trusted companions, we are more likely to be responsive to the opportunity to course correct.

Whether considering a physical journey or a spiritual one, by making adjustments to our habits and patterns, we can align ourselves in the best trajectory. May God be our guide in all our journeys.