God-sized dreams...when you worry you've wasted your life

We sit and talk. Eventually she clears her throat and quietly asks, "What do you do if you feel like you've wasted your life?" The silence hangs thick in the air between us.

It's a heavy question of the heart.

And I think of the One who had the most meaningful existence ever. For so many years, He was simply a carpenter.

I say this out loud, pondering.

"He didn't need more practice," I say, "And it sure seems like He could have started His ministry earlier and gotten more done. But for some inexplicable reason, He spent years working with wood. Years we would have called wasted."

She looks up, smiles. We part ways. Next time I see her she holds a sheet of paper in her hand. It has these words on it. I ask her if I can share them with you. She says yes.

Why did He need to be a Carpenter? Maybe, just maybe He was a carpenter for me...Each hurt is a board, each disappointment a piece of wood and each trial a plank.

Jesus, the Carpenter, is taking each piece of wood and nailing it together. He is nailing together a future that is unclear to me but I have peace because He is my Carpenter. I take great comfort in Ephesians 2:10. "For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I understand that was my past was not wasted. He is using it all to "build" me so I can do the good works God has prepared for me to do. I don't know what He has in store for me in the next phase of my life; however, it doesn't matter because He is building me into His Masterpiece.

Those "wasted" years?

In the Carpenter's hands they can be transformed into a beautiful part of the dream.

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Comments

[Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect]

Holley, I haven't been commenting, but please know that this series and your words are really touching my heart. Thank you.

[HONEY]

Holley,I have been commenting on your series and each Sunday have been part of the process of praying for others and asking for prayer for myself too.This morning, I found myself needing a touch from God and immediately thought I will post a comment with Holley and as I returned to my homepage, there you were....an incoming email from Holley.I am lost today...feeling without direction and purpose. I feel like the dream that I thought I was living has been a lie. I am in a fog of lies, deception, bondage and broken covenant promises. How low can you go? I am at the bottom of my pit....the end of my rope....the fork in the road....the last teardrop.....the broken heart.....the failed marriage....and finally the last straw. I am not sure how the story will end, but in total surrender I believe that God is working on me like his wood pieces, one piece at a time. What I thought to be a beautiful picture has become a dark, painful, journey and a neverending story.I guess I was too close to the trees to see the forest, but now I can see....I am blinded by the truth and over run with encounters of unfaithful, disloyal, dishonoring acts toward me and to me that has left me used up and empty.Please pray for me today...I know God has a purpose for me and a dream larger than life....grant me the strength to see it through to the end...I am weary and feel alone, but know that I am not. Pray for me today in my hour of need...thank you.

[Holley Gerth]

Dear Honey, yes, I am praying with you and for you today. The darkest part of the night comes just before dawn. Hold on, press in, you are loved and good, God-sized things are ahead for you! I just know it. Love in Him, Holley

[Charissa Steyn]

I love that picture of Jesus being a carpenter...here I am trying to strive and scramble to make a name for myself and I am only 27... Jesus waited on God's perfect timing and knew that these years were precious not wasted... Love this! Thanks Holley!

[Carol]

Today's words really touched my heart and made me realize that even though I will soon be 57, God still has more plans for my life. And as each chapter unfolds, I will cherish each page. Thanks Holley!

[NancyN]

You really hit home with me today, Holley. The past few weeks I've been pondering "Have I wasted my life?" I believe in my heart that God has great plans for me if I can just keep moving forward. There lies the problem; I'm stuck! Paralyzed with fear? or doubt? I don't even know. I want connection but I withdraw deeper and deeper into myself. Life has been full of disappointments, but I know where my strength comes from. Father, I need your touch today.

[pam]

Thank you Holley, july 2 i will be 55 years old, and am asking myself, what have i done that others will remember me? aside from having three boys, a grand daughter, and working with ex- offenders, i feel like it was wasted. boy, i needed this. how can three precious boys be called a waste?honeyyour in my prayers today, i have felt like that many days. jeremiah 29 vs 11-13 are great for days we feel lost.

[Char]

Ephesians 2:10. "For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

as the scripture in James says, "faith without works is dead"; another scripture says, "whatever you do to the least of these you do to me." think of each of these passages of scripture as links in a chain, then think of the scripture that says, "the poor you will always have with you."

the presence of the poor among us seems to be a part of "the work that God has prepared in advance for us to do."

[Becky]

"Those "wasted" years?

In the Carpenter's hands they can be transformed into a beautiful part of the dream."

Dear Holley,

That thought is very encouraging to me. Thank you.

I wouldn't say that I've been thinking I've wasted my life, but something similar. Actually, though, if someone would have asked me if I felt like they were wasted years, I might have answered "yes". But, what I have been thinking, is that I've made all the wrong choices and really screwed up my life. It's only been in the last year that I've even given God the place He deserves in the center of my life. He's been very patient with me.

I have been feeling like God is working in my life lately. Though, I have no clue about how exactly or what exactly He may be up to. I think it may be a change in job but I'll spare you the details about why I think that. I've been kind of depressed because I have so few skills to offer Him. I never went to college -- which is just one of the bad choices I made in the past. It makes me wonder what else could be out there for me to do for Him. And then along comes your post and I'm encouraged again.

Love and blessings,

[Jenni Saake "InfertilityMom"]

Living with chronic illness often seems like life waisted. As a friend just told me this past weekend, "I keep telling God I could do so much for Him if I was healthier." Thanks for the reminder that God has purpose even in extended seasons of waiting and "being still" even if it feels like we should be "doing something" different. May His purpose be fulfilled in my life, be it in bed or anywhere else.