Subscription Lists

10 Minutes Peace

    by Susan McGrath

"Re-purposed"
Date Posted: May 15, 2004

Perhaps you've never heard the term before. Or maybe you're one of those cutting edge people who update their vocabulary weekly with faddish phrases. In either case I want you to latch on to this term.

I first heard the term "re-purpose" on one of my beloved home renovation shows. One designer uses it frequently when she takes an existing piece from the home they are working on and turns it from a plain shelf into a magnificent showpiece, or space waster into practical storage.

I have seen them re-purpose a bookshelf into a shoe cubby, PVC pipe into shelving, baseball bats into curtain rods, newspaper columns into wallpaper, etc.

After hearing the term, I really liked it and thought of all the things in my home that have been re-purposed. A few are practical pieces I have turned decorative, like my great-grandmothers copper boiler which is now a magazine bin, but many are items my creative two-year-old gets into his hands.

Last week the laundry basket was a sled. (I'm just grateful he didn't decide to re-purpose the stairs into a hill!) The attachments to my vacuum cleaner have been re-purposed into everything from telescopes to clubs. One piece is still missing! Of course, anything can be re-purposed into a step stool or ladder, and my bed and sofa, despite frequent scoldings, have at times been re-purposed into trampolines. (I'm sure that's never happened to any of you!)

I don't think too much about the purpose of everyday items. I know what they're for and that's what I do with them. When I think about it from a child's perspective of "what could this be used for" it becomes a whole new world.

I think that's how God sees us. He can envision all the possibilities for our lives that we sometimes don't bother to or don't want to see. He has a purpose for each of us, to the glory of his kingdom. When giving our life over to him each of us should consider how it should be "re-purposed" to bring him glory and bring others to him.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -- Romans 8:28

As you meditate on God's purpose for you this week, join me in praying that we will have a common purpose -- to see the world won to Jesus.

Was this article helpful?
Rate it:

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

How Great Is Your Need Today?

Read Article »
Biography Information:
Susan McGrath is:

a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;

living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;

completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.