by David Daffern

Does the caterpillar have any idea what it will become when it enters its cocoon?

Does the clay have a clue what the artist is casting on the wheel?

The author of the epic poem, Paradise Lost, felt useless when he lost his vision, contemplating taking his own life. His short poem, On His Blindness, reveals a purpose despite setbacks. Take a moment and look it up on GOOGLE. Go ahead, I'll wait!

In one of my very first posts in the Living Waters group, I described a painting in the office of one of my professors. It was of an extremely powerful Texas thunderstorm in the Hill Country. In the bottom right corner, just above the artist's signature, was a little bluebird singing its heart out from a small crevice in a sturdy rock. The rock stood firmly and adamantly. The bird and her family were safe while most everything around them was buffeted and beaten down. Yet, the bird confidently sang. The title of the painting was, Sing a New Song. Unless you were looking for it, you might miss the bird in the large painting depicting God's awesome strength and power.

Here's the conclusion I came to. When God touches your life, you are changed. You'll never be the same again. You can't go back to what you were before, not that we always want to.

David, in his psalm (33), tells of his Creator placing a "new song" in his heart. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, tells us that in Christ Jesus we are a new creation, the old one has passed away.

Perhaps, instead of asking the question "why me God" we can ask "what purpose are You preparing me to accomplish"? When struck down and feeling sad and depressed, mourning the loss of our former lives, we who endure chronic illness and debilitating pain still have something awesome that the Lord can achieve in and through us. If nothing else, we can pave the way for those who come after us, so they might be helped through the difficulties we have suffered, just as those before us may have lit the path for us.

It is a new song, not the same tune but a different verse. New. Each of us have found this community in social media when we needed it. I praise God that it is here. I believe God is not finished with us, casting us aside as useless tools. He can use us to lift others up, encouraging one another, advocating for folks who cannot find their voice, learning the words to a new tune, even in realizing the clay doesn't tell the potter what to make (that's something I did frequently before this invisible debilitating illness). We are His workmanship, molded for His good purposes, to perfect and complete us in His timing (Phil 1:6). We are still useful in His hands as we make ourselves available. We are born again in Spirit, not to reenter from the womb, but to sing a new song. Even if it is only to stand at the door and wait.

NOTE: If you aren't already a member, we invite you to come and be a part of our online Facebook group, Living Waters