NOTHING WASTED

By Shirley Wiggins

“When they were filled, He (Jesus) said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.’”… “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:13, 39.)

“Wherever He leads, I’ll go!  Wherever He leads, I’ll go…”

The words to this refrain ran repeatedly through my mind as I went about the duties of my day. 

I remembered as a young wife and mother standing with the congregation in the little hometown church on Sunday mornings and evenings singing so confidently the words of this hymn.

With the most sincere of hearts and strongest of beliefs in my mind, I affirmed to the Lord that I would always go with confidence wherever He might lead me in the coming days of my life.

Oh, what a naïve young woman I was!  I had absolutely no idea the winding paths my life would take as I followed my young husband, with our three small children in tow, from state to state with his jobs.  We settled in and enrolled the children in schools and sought out the church homes for our growing family in each new city and state with great anticipation that this would be “home” for a long, long time.

It never was for more than a few years at the time, but God blessed us with good friends in each and every town and our roots grew as deeply as they could in the time allotted in each new place.

Even though we missed parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, we had each other and our family was intact.

I had no idea then that one of the “places” I would have to live for years would be in the heartbreak of a splintered family.

The years of holiday gatherings with more than one Christmas and Thanksgiving celebration held each year on separate days was truly a difficult time.

Tough times in life do eventually pass, and when they do, they can leave us with such potential for greater strength for facing the next difficult challenge.

 Women, I think, endure life’s disappointments differently from men, even their own husbands.  Each one suffers, but in ways that the other cannot quite understand.

The heartbreak of a seemingly voluntary separation on the part of a loved one seems particularly hard to endure – not a separation in miles but in life’s moments shared together.

The hurt of being excluded from a particular gathering, whether intentional or just through a careless neglect, weighs heavy on the heart, doesn’t it?

One of the most vivid remembrances I have from a speakers’ and writers’ conference is a picture of a woman crying buckets of tears above the caption:  “Journal until you can control yourself.” 

It spoke volumes to me then, and still does.  It helps me so much to use the pages of my journal to write what’s in my heart— private thoughts, dreams, hurts, whatever I am feeling— until I am able to express myself sensibly and succinctly, without wasted words.

I read a quote some time ago that echoed my own thoughts:

“I’ve sensed God say, ‘It’s time to let go.’  But I don’t want to.  Relationships define me.  And if they are out of whack or different, that rocks my foundation.” – Author unknown.

Relationships do so define a woman’s life and emotions, don’t you think?  I, too, have sensed God giving me that same five-word directive about some expectations I’ve tried to hold onto long after they should have been released.

My first family fracture left me with the strong conviction that my response through it all should have been one of firmer faith  in God’s timely intervention of the circumstances, trusting Him to do just the right thing, at just the right time.

I believe that none of my life’s experiences will have been wasted. Pain from the past and pain in the present will be used of God to enhance my future.   Pain always has a purpose, and whether it is physical or emotional pain, God will make it turn out for good to those who love Him. 

My prayers continue to be that my future responses to life’s painful and disappointing experiences will be biblical, as God’s Word instructs:

·       Count it all joy because I have fallen into this tribulation; James 1:2.

·      Remember that God will use it all for good benefit to me; Romans 8:28.

·      Know that all of this has happened that I might learn to rely on God and not on myself;            2 Corinthians 1:8-11.

·      Be mindful that God, the God of all comfort, will comfort me in this experience so that I may comfort another woman going through any kind of painful heartbreak;                                    2 Corinthians 1:3-7.

·      Trust God, Talk to God, Tell God Everything, Tell others the praises:  “Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest.” (Mrs. Charles E. Cowman; Streams in the Desert, page 351.)

Jesus never allows anything to go to waste, so I am excited to see what He is going to do with all of my life’s experiences!  

Future encounters with painful situations do not need to defeat us, nor make us fearful.  They only need to cause us to look to the Lord our God, for we are each one uniquely defined by our relationship with Him:

“I lift up my eyes to You,  to You whose throne is in heaven.  As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us mercy.”  Psalm 123:1-2.

“Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, O my soul.  I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them---the Lord who remains faithful forever.  He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.  The Lord reigns forever, Your God, O Zion, for all generations.  Praise the Lord.”  Psalm 146:1-10

In everything that you and I are privileged to experience, we may know that God is gathering it all up and will make each life event work out for good at just the right and proper time.  With nothing wasted…. Amen.