Repurpose to Fill That Tank

Have you ever had a couple of days when things just keep pounding away at you?  You keep moving and stuff just whacks you on the head to push you back down.  Just like that old arcade game that had those pop-up moles and you had the giant mallet to whack the moles.  Except in the game of life, the giant Paul Bunyan-sized hammer beats you back again.

 



Love my new cup, gifted to me by someone who knows me well!

Sometimes there are weeks like that and I forget to look around to see promise.  I miss the kudos.  I fail to hear the encouragement.  I bristle up and don’t feel the pat on the back. I get so bogged down in the negative, that I don’t see the positive.  I miss the joy, which is something that is planted deep in my heart despite the circumstances.  The ‘Joy Tank’ is there and just needs to be uncovered and topped off every so often.  The smudge needs to be wiped away.  That is what keeps the pipes running well.  It’s the Joy Tank.  



Max the Cat...he has his own joy tank.

My Joy Tank is welded with knowledge of who I am.  I am loved.  The walls of my Joy Tank bind up truth that the Lord has chosen me and not cast me away (Isaiah 41:9).  The bolts of my Joy Tank are strengthened with the promise that the Lord loves me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).  This is the Joy Tank that works on inside me despite what is going on outside of me.

 

Then there is the part of the day when I am fully human and have those imperfect moments and don’t feel very joyful.  This is normal and God knows I just can’t be perfect (and as much as I want to ‘perfect’ things, I realize it ain’t gonna happen).  That’s when I need to look around, feel and see the positive.  I need to repurpose those feelings of frustration.  I need to take a moment. Move away from that mallet.

Notice.

 
Notice that kind word from a stranger.  Notice the encouragement from a friend.  Notice the bird outside the window.  Notice the colors of the sunset or the rosy grin of a 14-year-old.  These are the things the Lord will nudge our way to top off our Joy Tanks.  These are the things that the Lord used to encourage me recently during one of those human weeks.  I was able to see how to repurpose.  He makes old things new.

 

     “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” – 2 Cor. 5:17

Before picture, adding legs.

 

I was given a kitchen cabinet recently by a sweet friend who was cleaning out.  I had been planning on finding a corner cabinet for my dining room and I had a tight budget.  I thought this free cabinet fit that budget and decided to see what I could do with it.  This cabinet was once hung on a wall.  It was very plain with nothing fancy to make it seem dining room-worthy.  It was sturdy and solid and ready for a new life. 

 

I made a few trips to the hardware stores.  Soft grey paint was purchased, along with short legs and a wood board to serve as the cabinet top.  After deciding the cabinet would be one that locked, I found basic hardware and locks to be painted.  Decorative knobs were found and painted as well.  The piece lived in my garage as I found time to work on it.  It was my first cabinet makeover and I was pulling on some self-taught engineering to secure legs, trim, and locks.  The cabinet was chalk painted that grey paint and slightly distressed, then finished with a clear wax. 

Before picture, adding top/trim.

Before picture, first coat of paint.

 

I repurposed something old and gave it new life.  It has a prominent spot in my dining room now.  I poured love and labor into it and I love it!  This cabinet is different and unique.  It has a purpose.  It’s mine.

 

After picture, the finished cabinet.

 

I could not help but think of how God repurposes and uses things in our life as I worked on the cabinet. Sometimes we just have to see it, and top off our Joy Tanks.

 

With Joy,

Tracey