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The Ugly Tote Bag
by Pat Murray I went to my fabric stash and pulled out the heavy duty fabric. I bought it for chair covers and wondered why in the world I purchased it because it was rather ugly. However, it would be perfect for this current project. I decided to make oversized shopping tote bags for the ladies in our Ladies Ministry Group at church. As I sewed together different scraps, fabrics and even different colors of thread, with nothing matching, I began to see how God wanted me to use these bags. They helped me to see that being "ugly" did not hinder their use. We may not look like we want, or have all the nice clothes we want but God still uses us. He has a job for us to do and it is not to sit up on a shelf looking good. We need to be useful everyday and not just Sunday Christians. We have to be about the Father's work of reaching people for Christ. All the scraps and pieces make the tote flawed and remind me that ALL have sinned (Rom. 3:23 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God) BUT Salvation is offered to ALL JOHN 3:16 Whosoever believeth!! Even flawed, He loves me and offers His free grace and mercy. The tote is reusable and washable. God is the ultimate recycler, washing us white as snow. Lives that are in pieces and scraps can be made over. He can take that life and do something wonderful with it. We have to be willing to allow Him to pick us up and put the pieces back together for His glory! The contents of this bag will be much more valuable than the bag ever will be. This earthly body is not much but what is within me is priceless. So much so that God gave His only Son for me. What love! God wanted to remind me to Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking: That there is a difference between the earthly and heavenly in me. Earthly minded individuals focus on what they have done for themselves but heavenly minded individuals focus on what God has done for them. Matthew 7:7-11 (NKJV) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Because of my Ugly Tote Bags, I am reminded to stay focused on God and He can work miracles in my life. By Pat Murray www.harvestladiesministry.com Please include this link within body of article if copying to another website or reprinting Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |