3.21.2006

What a Mess

Right now, my house is a disaster area. Demolition crews (aka: JP & Co.) have torn out half of my kitchen: there are no cabinets or counters on the south wall, and all of the pots, pans, canned goods, and other miscellaneous items that stayed in the cabinets that used to be there are now scattered about the remaining counters, the kitchen table, and the "back room." (If any of you have ever seen the infamous "back room," you understand why I have it in quotation marks.
Our old office desk is sitting in the middle of the living room, cramped between the coffee table and the piano bench. A huge box of books takes up the space just beyond the front entry way, leaving a small path through which you must pass to reach the rest of the house.
We are in the middle of remodeling our house. The kitchen, when it is completed, will boast new tile floors, fresh paint, new countertops, cabinets, and lighting fixtures. The office has brand new furniture with plenty of space for JP to run his business from and, once I get the ducky wallpaper stripped off, will also have new paint. There will be new curtains for the bedroom, new paint and towels for the bathroom, and the living room will also receive paint and, if we get really adventurous, hardwood floors.
It's all going to look wonderful - if we ever get there. Sometimes I wonder if we will. It seems like such a long, stressful battle. Right now all I can see is the mess in front of me. I have a vision of what it will look like when it's done, but that vision often seems so far away.
This reminds me of my life. So many times I feel like my life is a mess, cluttered with the junk that I'm trying to clear out and replace with the new. It's a process, a hard one, but worth it in the end.
The good news is that I have a Master Remodeler working on my life. He's helping to clear out the old and bring in the new. He has the blueprint, all the master plans. I'm just a sub-contractor, working under His guidance to do the things I need to do to get the job done.
Just like my house will be a "whole new house" when our remodeling is completed, so my life is a new thing when God is done with me.
But then again, He's never done with me. :)

2Cr 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Audra,

Do you have Sara Grove's Past the Wishing CD? She wrote a song similar to the sentiment of your post.

Help Me Be New

God is doing a work in me
He's walking through my rooms and hails
Checking every corner
Tearing down the unsafe walls
And letting in the light

I am working hard
To clean my house and set it straight
To not let pride get in the way
To catch an eternal vision of
What I am to become

Will you help me be new
Will you hold me to the promises
That I have made
Will you let me be new
Forgive my old self and my old mistakes

It seems easier
Living out my life in Christ
For those who do not know me
To hide the thorns stuck in my side
And all my secret faults

But you know me well
And it's you I want the most to see
And recognize the changes
A word from you empowers me
To press on for my goal

When I feel condemned to live my old life
Remind me I've been given a new life in Christ

The Charlebois said...

No, Priya, I have never heard this song, but that's just exactly what I was getting at! :)
Thanks for posting it.

Lori said...

Hi Audra - Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - we have been out of town for the past three days. I have access to a elephant stamp that is approx. 3" X 3". When would you need it by? Next Kidstuf? Let me know if that would help.