Nothing is Wasted
Hi y’all! My name is Zoë.
I’ve known Celine since I was a sophomore in high-school and she’s undoubtedly, one of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to share something from my heart with you all. My heart and hope is that you’d be encouraged and reassured that nothing you go through, is meaningless. It has its purpose, even if you don’t see that just yet, holding onto the fact that, it still does.
Growing up in my house, there was no such thing as throwing away food. My father in particular, would always say that there’s someone, somewhere, who’d be grateful to have what I had left on my plate. In my mind, it didn’t seem like a huge deal. So what if I don’t finish everything? If I was full, I was full. Regardless about how I felt about it, my dad was adamant about not being wasteful. The older I got, the more my perspective began to change regarding wasting things. I began to understand why my dad felt so strongly about not being so quick to want to throw something away, especially when it could be used to “feed” someone else.
I think about how this relates to my relationship with my Heavenly Father. There have been times when I wanted to dispose of something, simply because I thought I was done with it. I was “full”. Little did I know, the very thing I was eager to dispose of, was the thing God wanted me to use to bless someone else.
I’m guessing by now, you can tell I’m not just talking about food or feeding people. I’m talking about the things in our lives that we feel we’d be better of without. The things that we feel like we don’t need because they don’t serve us. In my life personally, I never understood how depression could possibly serve any kind of meaningful purpose. If anything, it felt like I was being robbed of my purpose and suffocated by the lies of the enemy. I didn’t see how any of that was helping me or making me better. It seemed like a “waste”. If there’s anything I know about God, it’s that He’s intentional with every detail of our lives. From the things we see as small and insignificant to the bigger and grander things. What I see as meaningless is the same thing God sees as meaningful. He sees the potential in my life when I don’t.
Have you ever stopped to consider, what you’re going through right now, isn’t FOR you? That, it’s not even about you? Crazy right? Your own life, your struggles, your trials, everything else in between, and yet; it’s not all about you.
Perhaps the struggle you’ve been enduring for what seems like forever, is what God wants to use in order to bless someone you know or don’t know yet. Now, that isn’t to say that, what you go through personally is for the benefit of everyone else and you get left with nothing. No, I believe that there are lessons for us too. I also believe, there are some things in my life that aren’t meant for me to keep, but steward well so I can give them away later.
I would never want anyone to battle depression the way I have, and honestly, the way I still do. My pain is not the thing I’m giving away. Instead I’m giving away what the pain and hurt produced in me; HOPE. I can tell people about where I’ve been, and where I’m at now; letting them know that I’m far from perfect but the only reason I’m still here is because of the One who IS perfect.
It’s not my job to be someon e’s hope but introduce them to the One who IS our hope. I’m not going to lie to you and say that it’s been easy. In no way, shape, or form, has any of this been an easy thing. I can tell you, that it’s been a worth-while thing. It hasn’t been a waste. Not in the slightest. I say all of this to say; take heart. It won’t always make sense, it will not seem fair, it might hurt for a while, BUT, it’s only temporary. There’s more to your story and there’s something YOU can add to someone else story. Have faith, be encouraged and take heart. 🤍
You can find me on Instagram @curlyheadzo - to find more faith based and uplifting words you can follow my @wordswithzo instagram account. -Zoë Licea
