Years ago, when I was growing up, we were pretty poor. My mother, being the amazing example that she is- took in odd jobs to make ends meet. She cleaned houses, wrote term papers, and did laundry. One of the things she did was restore furniture. I remember coming home from school to see our kitchen draped in plastic and the house would be filled with the pungent aroma of an orange scented chemical stripper she used and there in the middle of the floor would be some sad little piece she was working on.
Many times I was there when the owners would bring their hideously "cherished" items and I would think, 'dump it and get a new one.' but my mother would take them in as though they were priceless. She would sit and look at them for a while, contemplating where to begin and what to do with them. I would watch as the gears in her head would begin to turn and then she would get up with a sense of purpose and set out to do what she'd envisioned in her head.
Our kitchen would be a wreak for days while she worked but the process was remarkable. I would watch as she began to strip away years of paint or muddled varnish. It was interesting to see the layers of colors as she worked to get the piece down to the original wood- yellow, blue, white, green... all representative of a season in the owners life. On especially fragile pieces I would watch as she would sand by hand. With each careful but purposed stroke the dust would fall to the floor and even fill the air. It was tedious but necessary to remove all evidence of what the piece had become. Once it was down to the maiden wood, she would proudly call me in to look at the grain. It was then, that I could begin to see why such articles were loved. I could see the beauty in each piece- because I could see what it had been CREATED to look like in the first place.
Once the piece had been stripped down, my mother would begin the painstaking task of building it back up. This was a process in and of itself. She would begin with a layer of varnish and many times I would hear her mutter, "Nope! That's not it!" And she would work until what she had invisioned stood before her. The owners would come and coo over their piece, often remarking that it looked brand new- They were beyond satisfied with the result. They were overjoyed! What stood before them was a stunning piece!
You see, restoration is a long and sometimes tedious process, it isn't an immediate action. To restore wood to it's intended splendor, you have to take it down to its bare grain. Meaning that all the layers of varnish and paint have to be removed. Sanding is friction and scrape by scrape it removes all the layers that hinder the true beauty of the piece. To restore something, you have to take it down to the bare essence of what it was to begin with and then and only then can you begin to build on it.
It's the same when God begins a restoration process in his children. It is just that... a process. He has to begin by removing layers that we have built up in our life, layers that hinder our true beauty from shining through. Layers that hinder us from becoming what HE created us to be. And the process is not pleasant. Remember- I said sanding is friction and sometimes the Lord uses friction in our life to reveal the areas that he needs to remove in order for us to become what HE invisioned. Aside from the process being tedious- sometimes its long too. It is completely dependant on how pliable the piece is. And how successful would my mother have been had she gotten in the middle of a particularly intricate item and said, "You know what...this is too hard. I'm finished." I am so thankful that God isn't that way, either. He isn't intimidated by the complications in our life. And how do you think the dresser or night stand would have been, had the owner came mid way through the process to take it unfinished? I'm so grateful that God's word says, "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ." (Phill. 1:6)
Romans says, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." There are times in our life when we don't even resemble the creation that God envisioned and it's visible to those on the outside. They see us and and they can see the nicks and the marks. They can see the areas that have come loose and the places that are marred. They see where our paint has chipped and our layers are shining through. But then there are times when we LOOK like we are well put together but in all honesty- all we've done is thrown a cloth over a broken piece and heaven forbid anyone try to use us for support because we will give way at any moment.
The Restoration Process is totally dependent on us by how pliable we become in the Master's hands. How receptive we are to his direction and guidance. How well we receive instruction and even rebuke. How well do we harken to his voice and how well we receive from our Pastors and those placed in offices that can minister to us. Are we capable of receiving, even when we don't like what we hear? Are we able to walk in submitted obedience to his word, even when the flesh is rebelling? Do we want God's restoration no matter the cost? Remember- my mother didn't do this for free...there was a cost. Those who wanted their furniture restored had to make the decision- was the restoration worth the price they were going to have to pay? Was the end result worth the cost?
I know that God has spoken over his children. My Bible tells me that he has a plan and a purpose for us- he longs to give us a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. (Ps. 103:8) And when we come to him, in submitted obedience, and allow him to begin His Restoration Process in our lives, our finished product will look like Him! "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph. 4:22-24)
So yes, I say the process is worth the cost...
Comments