Sandpaper Sunday

Have you ever found something strange in a weird place? While looking for a certain package of decorator paper that I need for my travel scrapbook, I found a box full of sandpaper.

Now, I've used a small piece of sandpaper to distress the edges of card stock for a weathered look, but this is way beyond that. And I don't remember collecting this much sandpaper all in one place.

I pulled it all out just to make sure that was the only treasure in the box, and it was. But my discovery made me smile, too.

For Shark Week, we taught two youth group lessons on sharks with the theme that Jesus is the greatest King of all! We played videos of sharks swimming on the big screen, matched up pairs of the deadliest - and friendliest - of sharks, and wore matching shark bracelets for a week. And one of the coolest facts we learned is that a shark's skin feels much like a piece of fine-grit sandpaper. We passed around a sandpaper block to give them an idea of what it would feel like to hug a shark. No one volunteered to do so...

What we didn't realize until we did a little research was that just like a piece of sandpaper can remove paint, so can a shark. If you look at a boat that's been sideswiped by a shark, not only is part of it missing and decimated but part of the paint will be rubbed off. Its skin is so much like sandpaper, that it will rough up a painted surface. The teens didn't want to try that one out, either...

At the same time, we're being sandpaper-ed, too. God is using the sandpaper of our circumstances to soften our rough edges, help us grow, and teach us more about who He is. Some days we feel it more than others. The days that feel like we're getting roughed up are the days we actually are - but for a better purpose. 

Whether you find a box of sandpaper this week, or you see God's purpose a little more clearly, I pray that you'll take a moment to thank Him for what He's doing in your life. It's for your good and His glory.