When I was a teenager, I took on the project one summer of refinishing a bedroom set my sister had used when she was home. It had this ugly 70's paint on it and I wanted to bring it back to its original state. (restoration) So, my dad helped me move it out to the garage and he got me the tools I needed. I remember stripping it down, taking the paint off and seeing this beautiful wood underneath. I got so excited! Then I had to sand it. I remember doing this by hand as well, no electric sander for me! It was really hard work. I wore gloves, but it was hard to work in them so I took them off. My hands got scratched, bled and were rough for weeks. My arms ached from all the sanding. Keep in mind I am doing this in the middle of summer in Virginia and it is hot, humid and miserable! We also do not have air condition in any area of our home. So to cool off, I would stand in front of the fan and drink sweet iced tea. Ahh.... summer!
The bedroom set consisted of a head and foot board for the bed, a dresser and another piece that had a mirror and drawers (can't remember what to call it). So I repeated this process on each piece of furniture. After bringing the furniture to it's original wood, I was able to decide upon a stain to use on it. My mom and I went to the local hardware store (this was before Lowes and Home Depot, if you can believe that!) and looked at all the stain available. I finally decided upon one that I liked, which was a little darker than the original color of the wood. Armed with a stain brush, the stain and a cloth, I went to work. I was so amazed at the beauty of the grain in the wood that showed through as I put the stain on. It turned out beautiful and I enjoyed that bedroom set all during high school and some of college. My parents still have it in my old room upstairs in their house. When I go back to visit, I stay in that room and I remember the time, effort and sweat it took to restore that furniture.
Restoration in my life is going to take time, effort, sweat and even tears. I know God is doing a new thing in my life. I know that He is restoring my faith in Him. I know He is restoring my belief in His love, goodness, faithfulness. I know He will have to strip me of the conclusions I have drawn over the past few years. He will need to strip me of my pride, my doubt, unbelief, my fear. He will need to sand down some things that I have let get too "thick" on my heart. He than will "stain" my life with His truth, the reminder of the promises in His word and the blood His son shed for me.
I know my God is able. Sometimes it is just hard for me to believe. I know I need to. I know His promises are yes and amen. He has proven Himself to me in the past and I know He will do it again and again. Not because He has to, but because He loves me and I need Him too. I guess that is just where I am right now.
I know God has begun the restoration process in my life. Part of that began in our move to Arizona. So, I will continue to move forward and trust (at times hesitantly) that he will continue the process. He does tell me that He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in my life. So, for today I will stand upon that promise and walk, knowing that my steps are ordered by Him. I will not worry about tomorrow but focus on what God has for me today.
I can't wait to "see" the finished product of His restoration process in my life.
