For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:36
I was doing a project today where I was given many random words, and I had to come up with synonyms and antonyms that go well with the word…sort of a word association game. I just went with the first thing that popped into my mind. I mean how do you really come up with an antonym to words like cow or window frame? Then, I was to group those words into categories of my choosing. I did this quickly with more of an abandon than a systematic approach.
I learned that no matter how hard we try, some things just aren’t meant to be stuffed into a category. We might fool ourselves into thinking we can, but it’s those things that aren’t nice and tidy that we learn from. Those that make us uncomfortable because we don’t fully understand them, allow us to grow the most. They may even seem insignificant compared to the other easily categorized and more important words that we can quickly put into our “all-important” groups. It’s easy to try to ignore and give no-mind to what we don’t understand, but then we end up missing the most significant lessons.
Mine was “zucchini” that just didn’t fit. I tried shoving it into a category, but it stood out to me with a spotlight on it. I even circled it and put a big old question mark beside it. There were so many words in my project (important words and words that excited me), but that’s the one that received my focus. It’s what I was called to “marinate” on even though it seemed so inconsequential.
I found something fascinating while researching the great “zucchini conundrum.” First off, I read that they’ll grow to be gargantuan, but this isn’t when the zucchini is at its best. They’re to be harvested when they’re still immature. I know this is hard to believe, but since I’m not a gardening genius, I checked with gardeningknowhow.com. They said that if you leave the fruit on too long, the seeds and rind harden, making it unpalatable. They become stringy on the inside with a tough exterior.
What a lesson! Does God pick us when we’re fully mature and when we’re ready for Him to? Nope! If He waited until we were ready, we’d be unpalatable to too many people. Our exterior would too tough for Him to use for His purposes. We get chosen when we’re still immature and palatable! I guess this is how we know it’s Him doing the work in us and not our own knowledge in work. He gets the glory and praise. We’re a vessel (usually an immature, broken one) that He works through, but He’s able to shape us.
I guess it isn’t a good idea to always have it in our head that we must reach a certain maturity before we can be used by God. I remember hearing that if we waited to have children until everything was perfect, we’d never have children because we’re never fully ready. If we wait to buy a house until everything is perfect, we’d never buy a house. This is the case about life. If we wait until we reach maturity to do the work God has in place for us to do, it’ll be too late.
This is where faith makes an appearance. We trust God to take us when we’re still immature to do what we can’t, and to work it all out for His glory. In what area do you feel inconsequential and unprepared to carry out instructions from God? Guess what…you don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be called. Today, trust that He can use you as you are. Let God do the work, and you be the vessel.
