RUST

RUST

PRACTICE: Remind yourself of an experience when your circumstances eroded your growth.

I purchased a galvanized aluminum tray from a furniture store I occasionally visit to look at funky furniture that I would never buy. The tray caught my eye because of the six bee magnets that were attached. I purchased both, thinking that the tray would look pretty on the kitchen counter and could be used to serve food. The tray neither sits on the counter nor is it used for the transport of food and drink because of rust. Instead, the tray became a tabletop for a stool that functions as a table base and is currently filled with cacti and other plants. I could take this illustration a lot of directions, but I want to address the rust.

After a few days on the counter, it became obvious that the formation of rust was going to be an issue. The rust on the upper surface was controllable, the bottom was the challenge. Rust is formed when iron or steel encounters water and oxygen. Rust is corrosion and if one element – water or oxygen had not been removed; over time my tray would have converted entirely to rust…not a good look for serving food. Removing oxygen was impossible. Removing water/liquids in a kitchen? Not likely either. The tray needed to be repurposed or relocated.

Why am I sharing my tale of a tray, rust and corrosion? Rust was a visible sign that the environment was not conducive for the planned purpose. Because I noticed the corrosion, I could make a change…I could have placed it in another room, I could have painted it, I had options. I decided to keep it in its current environment and to let it shine there.

Where are we in this parable? Our rust may not always be as identifiable. We may know what our life’s purpose is. Yet we may find ourselves in a job, relationship etc. (corrosion) that isn’t conducive to living out the purpose the way we envisioned. The person that gets to live their purpose where and how they envisioned it is a blessed individual. Most of us find ourselves in environments that are not perfect. When relocation is not an option, we learn to tweak, adjust and bloom where planted.

The tray is still in the kitchen with water and oxygen. Cacti are succulents, thick and fleshy, and able to retain water, limiting their need of water, one of the needed ingredients for rust.

The tray is fulfilling its purpose…it looks nothing like I envisioned.

1 Cor.7:20

PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Growth is more attitude than location.