Soul Scientist

Daniel 12:3 EASY People who are wise will shine like the bright sky. Those who help many people to do what is right will also shine brightly forever. They will shine like the stars in the sky at night.

One of the first things that comes to mind with my daddy’s tobacco stick stars is that only God can (and does!) redeem all things for good (see Genesis 50:20). He doesn’t waste anything, including suffering.

Daddy started making big stars out of some old tobacco sticks he found on the farm. These stars now decorate his garden and storage shed, along with my home and a dear friend’s home also. They bring a smile to my face in recognition of a thrifty beauty where there’s always a use for everything. This kind of thrifty beauty promotes questions and memories renewed.

When another friend comes to my house, she always asks, “what’s the story on this?” while pointing at yet another repurposed treasure in my home. (Side note to fellow thrifters: All our furniture is early American attic, basement, or yard sale. I wouldn’t have it any other way (grin)! But I draw the line at my grandmother’s and great-aunt’s horsehair couches which were itchy, poky, and hot all year long.)

The tobacco sticks in Daddy’s stars were made and used long ago on our family farm. Some of the sticks are even older than my 85-year-old daddy.* These sticks were used to store tobacco leaves for drying in the barn every year until the leaves were cured and ready for stripping.

These sticks and the ones who used them have seen many seasons of life on our farm. Seasons of plenty and of naught, of joy and of grief, of birth and of death. They’ve weathered long winters and short springs, recurring floods and small harvests. Our barns and fields haven’t always been full of crops or cattle. Yet our hearts have been full of faith and following hard after our Jesus, in the happy and in the hard (see Habakkuk 3:17-19). And that’s the kind of legacy I pray my husband and I leave for our children, grandchildren, and onwards.

A legacy of truths.

Truths I know deep in the soil of my soul – Our God truly is The One enthroned in power, mercy, love, grace, and glory (see Isaiah chapter 6). He doesn’t change or leave. He keeps all His promises and provides for all needs. He loves everyone deeply, including those like me who have been guilty of much sin. His legacy for me is sure, strong, and steadfast as He is.

A legacy of a hope that doesn’t decay, deny, or disappoint (see Romans 5:50).

A legacy of faith that remains, renews, and rescues all who believe (see John 3:16).

A legacy of joy that endures, encourages, and exhorts (see Nehemiah 8:10).

And that kind of legacy of truth planted deep in the soil of a soul is precious. It sees opportunity to show God’s victory in the big and small. God doesn’t waste our suffering. From personal experience, that’s a lesson hard-learned and a hallelujah hard-won. This is why I think it’s so appropriate the tobacco sticks are now used to provide acknowledgement of Almighty God and His Sovereignty, instead of being used to promote addiction and sickness.

And that’s the kind of legacy I want to leave – His victory over my vices, His grace and glory over my gain, His faith over my fears and failings, His worship over my weaknesses, and His salvation over my sin. Thank You, Jesus, that nothing is impossible for You. May Your Name be exalted in my life from the soil to the stars!

Philippians 2:14-15 ICB Do everything without complaining or arguing. Then you will be innocent and without anything wrong in you. You will be God’s children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you. Among them you shine like stars in the dark world.

Written by and copyrighted to Beth Madison, Ph.D., 2025.

*If you’re interested in the process by which many of the tobacco sticks were made, please refer to the “Riving” blog post linked here – https://soulscientistblog.com/2023/04/02/riving/