Dear Reader,
Today I picked up a plastic soda bottle and noticed two simple phrases printed on its label:
"I'm a 100% recycled bottle."
"Recycle me again."
They were intended as a reminder to care for our planet, yet I could not help but wonder if they also described something deeper.
Our lives, like the bottle, may at one time have existed in another form.
In my case, the person I am today has arisen from an earlier time marked by grief, failure, loneliness, regret, and the pain known to many addicts and alcoholics. There was a time when I felt like broken pieces tossed aside. At moments, I even wondered if I had outlived my usefulness to family, friends, and community.
The miracle is that God rarely throws anything away.
Recovery has taught me that we are not defined by what we have been, but by what we are willing to become. The broken pieces of our lives can be gathered together and fashioned into something useful and beautiful.
Perhaps that is why those words caught my attention:
"I'm a 100% recycled bottle."
Imagine if we could say the same thing about ourselves.
"I am a recycled child of God."
And if necessary:
"Recycle me again."
How fitting those words are for the spiritual life.
Every day I discover another rough edge that needs sanding, another fear that needs surrendering, and another lesson that needs learning. Thankfully, God is patient. He continues His work in us long after we would have given up on ourselves.
The first miracle of recovery is that we are given another chance.
The second miracle is that we are continually being remade.
To me, that is the hidden message found on the side of a soft drink bottle:
"I was not discarded. I was redeemed."
And if tomorrow finds me needing grace once more, I pray I will have the humility to say:
"Recycle me again."
With a grateful heart,
🙏🏻🧘♂️💕🤗☮️
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