Nothing Is Wasted

How many of you remember the dreams you had as a kid?

I know for some it was to be an astronaut, or other maybe a doctor. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who told me that all he wanted to be when he grew up was a pest exterminator. I looked at him, shocked, and said, why? He responded, “Well… What kid doesn't wanna dress up like a ghost buster and spray poison everywhere?” I laughed, and then realized we all had some crazy thoughts of what our future would look like when we were kids.

When I was five, I picked up the violin and thought I would be a traveling fiddle player. My parents took me to competitions, and I won big cash prizes… Well… I won like $50 bucks. But when you win $50 in Tehachapi, CA for playing a few songs as a nine year old, that’s a pretty good day!

When I was fourteen, I had been doing martial arts for about eight years and decided I wanted to be a martial arts instructor. I trained, got my blackbelt, began to even teach on staff when I was sixteen for a season. But, in the true nature of a season, it came and went, and I realized that I was meant for something different in my life.

John 15 says,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

- John 15:1-2

There are certain things in our life we can agree that God steps in and cuts out. I think about the bad relationships I had with girls, the unhealthy friendships or habits that were hurting all parts of my life. But, I think we can get disoriented when it comes to pruning. We interpret the pain of pruning as God cutting things out of our lives. But, then we look back and see that God removing those things leads to greater fruitfulness in our lives.

I used to think that God had cut off the branch of violin playing, or the branch of martial arts. But I see now that He pruned them. I may not be fiddling around the coast of California trying to make a living, but He pruned that in a way so that I’m a more fruitful musician in my work. I have carried some of those skills into everything I do at the church here, and everywhere I share my gift of music. I may not be telling people how to do Kung Fu that often, but I do find myself standing in front of rooms of people sharing instruction and leading people with authority. I thought my days of martial arts were done, but they were pruned to place me where I am today!

If I’ve learned anything, it’s to stop looking at the different versions of myself in the past, thinking that they were failed attempts. I need to spend more time looking at the vine I’m connected to and seeing how those experiences are making me look more like the source.

I pray you feel a connection to the source that is Christ today and are reminded that nothing is wasted - your best days are still ahead of you, because you can always look more like Christ.

DJ Brennan

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