If you buy your wife a microwave…

When your microwave dies the day after Thanksgiving you might find yourself making a less than appealing mash-up of leftovers in a cast iron skillet, and your husband might have a brilliant idea to go to the Black Friday sale to buy a new one.

While shopping at your local big box store, you might realize that your new stainless steel microwave won’t look very good over your old, white, dingy oven. And you might think you got such a great deal on the new microwave, that you might as well buy a shiny new oven too!

When the new stainless steel appliances are delivered to the house, you might realize that they don’t look as good as you had hoped with the dated oak cabinets and the burnt orange walls that you have tolerated since the day you moved in.

So, you will decide to paint. You will bring home 10,000 paint chips and you will (bully your husband) compromise on a color. And then you will prep, tape, and paint the walls. You will scrub and clean cabinets, and sand, and paint. And then you will paint and sand some more. You will eat take out, and use paper plates. You will stay up late, really, really late. Paint will be everywhere that it shouldn’t be. You will feel like you did when you were in 3rd grade when you colored in one of those giant velvet posters with the tiny, dried out, felt-tip markers. You will remember that It looked like such a small kitchen when you started, now it will seem huge and gigantic and never ending. You will wash paint brushes. For hours. And every inch of your body will ache.

Then when you start to see the progress, you will see the great difference a little hard work and a lot of white paint can make! You will get excited. But, then you will notice the ugly countertops and the old flooring. Suddenly, your couch will look worn and outdated next to your new shiny kitchen. So, you will replace that too. You will watch Fixer Upper and you will let your face fall into your paint-stained hands as you sob, knowing you will never have the vision of Joanna, the handiness of Chip, and most of all, the magic of time lapse that makes weeks of work go by in one hour. And then you will gasp “My walls are 20 feet high!” You will attempt to calculate the square footage of needed shiplap, but you will lose count quickly when you hear your child whine…

“Ugggghhh, pizza again?”

The struggle will be real.

You might start to beat yourself up a bit for feeling so discontent. You might scold yourself for your first world problems. But, then this thought will cross your mind… God is a God of restoration. He makes old things new. He delights to take things that look worthless and used up and make them beautiful and useful again. He has put this desire in me. He knows I would rather take an old piece of furniture that has dents, scars, and history, and give it new life with a little care and paint, and to give it a new story than to buy a brand new one.

You will remember…

My heavenly father has done this with me. Some might say I have messed up too much. I have made poor choices. I have not always learned from my mistakes the first time. Or the second. From the human perspective, I don’t really deserve the glorious life I have been given. But, Jesus does not agree. He sees what others do not. He is gracious to forgive and even more gracious to make all things new.

Chip and Joanna ain’t got nothing on Him. And you will remember that the Bible is full of people that the world saw as worthless, and how God made them worthy. And that in His eyes, shepherds are Kings.

The Lord has restoration in mind for me. Beyond my wildest dreams, better than any home I could imagine, more than all the shiplap in the world can cover, are His plans for me. He is tearing down walls of doubt, ripping up insecurity, replacing fears with confidence, and anxiety with peace. He is covering my sadness with joy, and He is strengthening my foundation. He is hanging His light in all the dark places.

 

And as He works, He also resides. He chose me, to live in. He sees all my potential and does not look around in disappointment, or despair but in excitement for all He has planned. I am sad to say, there is no time lapse for this process. His greatest work in me might be giving me the patience I need to wait for the great reveal.

And He who was seated on the throne said “Behold, I am making all things new” Then He said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. Revelation 21:5

Enter His Rest, Stacey

 

Check out my kitchen remodel!  So fun!