Real Renos

Being in the midst of a renovation has been an interesting experience.  There are many surprises hiding underneath perfectly good drywall and work needs to be done to bring it back up to code.  Strange and fascinating wiring configurations lurk just beneath the surface.  It gets the job done....most of the time.   Isn't life just like that sometimes?

When we got down to the bare studs in the kitchen, I thought about how much more there is to a person than just their outward appearance, their facade.    Very often we are content to just be squared up from a distance and taken at face value.   Some days I'm pleased that this is all that others see of me, as I'm whizzing by.   Upon closer examination they might notice that there are some areas that have a pretty poor spackling job that was painted over.   Then there are the spots that just have a nice picture hanging over something entirely unsightly.  And you know you really should be working on repairing that instead of avoiding it, walking around it. Carrying it.  

This happens.  To all of us.

There is something really scary about surrendering these parts of our lives and being vulnerable before God. To wake up one day and realize that just because this is the way it is, doesn't mean it should be.  To surrender these places and allow Him to do the uncomfortable, painful,  healing work that needs to be done.  To admit that His Master-plan is better than anything we could choose on our own. If we can allow Him to do transformational work in us...He will remove the fascinating and strange band-aids we've added to our lives. If we can let go of the things that aren't really working,  He will take us back down to the bare studs.   He will give us a new heart.  A heart of flesh.  Renew a right Spirit within in us.  Turn our mourning into dancing. Bestow on us a crown of beauty and a garment of praise and bring us back up to code: His plan for our lives.  Imagine the "before" and "after" of a life changed and renewed.