One of my favorite shows on TV right now is “American Pickers.” I have actually enjoyed it for several years. There is a treasure aspect to what Mike and Frank do in each episode that I enjoy. They consistently find old items and buy them cheap in order to resell them.

Because I am busy on Wednesday nights when the show is on with youth group at the Church I set it up to DVR. That means that sometime on Thursday I finally sit down to watch it. Well, yesterday the guys from Antique Archaeology found some old metal dividers. The conversation quickly went to how these items could be “repurposed.” How could they take something that had one original design and use it for something completely different?

This idea was further driven home in my mind when I walked outside at my own home. Just outside my front door you will find an old ladder. It was made of wood and was too rotten to support someone’s weight while climbing. My wife and I had the idea to cut it up and make it a plant form for a one of our climbing roses to grow up around. It’s original design now modified and adjust to fit a new need.

This type of thinking has me believing that God wants to do some repurposing in our lives.

1. God wants to repurpose your hurts. I once heard Rick Warren say that your greatest source of struggle can also be your greatest ministry. Who better to minister to unwed teen mothers than a former unwed teen mother? Who better to minister to teens struggling with drugs than a former addict? Who better to share the grace of God than someone who has experienced it first hand?

2. God wants to repurpose your comfort. Second Corinthians chapter one develops this idea. In simple terms, when you were struggling God did something or used someone to help get you through it. Now you take the lessons you learned and help someone else with it. God’s original purpose was to help you and now you can repurpose that information to help others.

Our God loves to repurpose people’s hurts, struggles and the strength it took to get through those situations. I know there are other things he is waiting to repurpose, but I think that might be a good sermon series next year. For now, what would happen if you let God do some repurposing in your life? Maybe your rotten experience could be a place for roses to grow.