This is a repost but it’s a goodie…
This week my husband has been shredding old documents. He has been doing this with much gusto and as a result the first shredder he brought “blew up” – well it suddenly started billowing smoke and looked like it was about to catch on fire. He has since realised he has to take a little longer in his “shredding” process, but he is getting the job done.
The past ten years of our life is in these shredded documents. Optometrist receipts, orthodontist paperwork, cars, holidays, music lessons, school bills, etc etc etc. Being shredded is reminders of family milestones, kids expenses, the good, bad and all the moments in between.
However watching my husband in his shredding process I wonder if there is something very therapeutic about “shredding?” It’s like we are clearing out the old and making way for the new. It’s remembering all that we have accomplished; all that God has provided for and all that we have been through to get to where we are now. Some reminders are good memories and some aren’t, and most are now only useful to be “shredded” and used in the compost bin. But regardless of which category these items fall into, they are the past and the truth is that each new day is an opportunity to reflect, give thanks and then move on. We can choose to take the good and thank God for all that he has done and provided for, and to also take the decidedly not so great and determine to learn from it, as we trust God to make something good come from all we experience, much like paper shredding’s do wonders for the compost bin.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Today I encourage you to do some “shredding” of your own. Some things in our lives and especially in our past simply belong in “God’s shredder”. The wisest thing to do is to bring these things to God and give them over to Him, knowing that He will in time bring something good out of everything we go through in life.
Plus as I am discovering, our shredding has now created all this space where we had been storing those old documents. In our cleaning out we have made room for something brand new and far more interesting, which is much like when we get rid of unnecessary old stuff in our lives and make room for God to do something brand new.
So…”Happy Shredding”.
“Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall” (Psalm 55:22)
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Prayer: Lord I thank you that each new day is an opportunity for you to do something amazing in my life. Help me to bring all my life to you and that I will make room for what you want to do today rather than holding onto the past. In Jesus name Amen.
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