Fri., Oct. 19, 2018

Lamentations 3:23 – They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

Ever feel a little tired and run down? Like you need to be renewed? Maybe your soul is being steered in the wrong direction?

We have been remodeling a chunk of the upstairs of our 110-year-old Victorian farmhouse.  There is nothing like a deadline to push you towards getting things accomplished! We have company arriving today. While the entire remodeling isn’t completed, Hubby Rick and I have made significant progress the last few weeks.

We are taking the middle section of our upstairs and remaking it into a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and master bathroom. We also made room for a second closet to house a washer and dryer. To make this all work, we’ve created a hallway which allows for the various components to branch off of.

On the east side of all this area is a storage area which someday, we will also remodel. This spot is really like a bonus room. Rick dreams of a game room. And maybe this is what it will be.

Back to the current remodeling job: there were two doors that went into the storage area/bonus room/game room. Rick closed off these doors with drywall. One door would have been where the shower will go. The other door would have been in the middle of the walk-in closet. To replace these two doors, he put one door at the end of the hallway, which makes more sense.

After some discussion, we decided to rework one of the existing doors and make it work for this new spot. It didn’t make sense to buy a new door when we already have two doors. We would just change the door to reflect the new style of this area.

This is how the door started. Basically, a 1950’s style blonde door. We actually like that it has windows because this will provide some needed light into the hallway. The blonde style just doesn’t work anymore. I convinced Rick to paint it.

One afternoon, Rick sanded down the door to remove the shiny finish. Then, he primed it. I had picked out a couple possible paint colors. After painting some of the other walls and doors in this space, I decided to paint this door the color of the bi-fold doors, trim and walk-in closet. This would keep the entire area bright.

When Rick applied the primer, he did not tape the windows. He thought it would be easier to use a razor blade and remove the paint afterwards. After I painted the door, touched it up with a second coat and let it dry, it was time to remove the excess paint on the windows. Rick has a cute little razor blade holder. I started to remove the paint and decided a new blade was in order. After replacing the blade, the paint zipped off rather quickly.

It was really quite easy and rewarding. Not a lot of time or energy and quick progress. I turned the door around and did the reverse side. Soon, the windows looked great and the renewed door was taking shape.

It took a little time, effort and planning to renew the door. Would it have been easier to buy a new door? Probably. But we are trying to be faithful stewards and reuse items as we can. I think it is cool to keep as much of the previous items from the house in tack.

As I was scrapping away the paint, I began to see a metaphor to my life. I can identify various points in my life when I needed a renewal. I needed to sand away parts of my life that were not as productive or necessary. I needed a coat of the Holy Spirit to smooth out my imperfections and provide a good base daily living. While the top coat of paint can cover up things I don’t want anyone else to see, God knows the flaws lie beneath and overlooks them anyway. Sometimes, I need to scrap away the things that keep me from fully loving God and my neighbors; things that draw me more into myself and away from God’s guiding hand in my life. And throw these things into the trash.

If I were completely honest, I would acknowledge that daily, I need this renewal. Yep. Every. Single. Day.

Thank goodness God doesn’t get tired of remodeling us. God doesn’t get frustrated when we’re been renewed and we quickly revert back to our previous unhealthy ways. God isn’t afraid of a little sanding, painting and scraping to bring us back into God’s loving arms. It doesn’t matter how much gets scraped away and thrown into the trash. God still sees us as beloved children of God’s kingdom.

It’s not God that’s afraid of renewal. Most often, it’s we who don’t want to make ourselves vulnerable enough. But when we do, the finished product is often oh, so beautiful.

Hubby Rick is hanging the door. I know it’s going to look great!

For a God who never tires of renewal, I am grateful.

Holy God – thank you for knowing when I need renewal before I do. Thank you for also knowing which parts of me need to be sanded, primed and repainted. May I willingly accept renewal in my life. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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