But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
I bought a fixer
It has good bones
It needs a lot of work
There have been many obstacles along the way,
even shoddy work from one contractor I hired
Which is really sad because the house needed the help to be corrected,
not to be in the same or worse state than it was in
As I work on it and paint it
and do the things I know how to do, to make it more livable,
I think of it as a parable of God’s work in our lives
Jesus was a carpenter by trade
I imagine Him working along side of me or the many workmen
who have come to redo things that needed to be redone
There are so many things to change and correct
So many things in the natural that have been neglected or even abused, which gave cause for further deterioration
This house, this work in progress, is being renewed
And, just like us, it is a process, a work that cannot take place instantly
Sweat on the brow
Elbow grease
Patience
A good attitude, not expecting things to change overnight
Not looking back to what I had before are all part of the renewal
This house will never be perfect, just like we will never be perfect in this world
The natural world has its flaws, as hard as we try to gain perfection,
it is impossible while we are on this Earth
We can just do the best we can
to step down from trying to direct our own lives
and allow Jesus to change us and clean us and redo us as needed