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Renovation, Rejuvenation, Restoration.
(Who needs a Major
Makeover?)
- Marsha Jordan
My husband and I are "boat people." Not the kind that fled from Viet Nam to escape a tyrannical government with only the clothes on their backs. We’re the kind of boat people who drive half a day to wait in line over an hour at the boat landing just to take a 30 minute boat ride.
My husband is actually more of a boat person than I am. Having nearly drowned in a high school swimming class, I don’t much like water much and could live without setting foot in it except that I must take a shower occasionally.
Tom grew up in the country on a small private lake. He’s spent nearly as much of his life in water as he’s spent on land. He’s so impassioned with antique wood boats that he owns not just one but several. I call it an obsession; he calls it an investment. He restores these boats; and he can’t resist a rotted hull when he sees one. It excites him as much as finding buried treasure. Actually, I guess his boats are treasures, because their value skyrockets once they’ve been refurbished.
When I look at a dilapidated boat, I see peeling paint, rusted chrome, and rotted wood; but my husband envisions its previous splendor and the magnificent treasure that it will be after he's worked his magic. When Tom acquires a boat, like a restless race horse at the starting gate, he’s excited to begin restoring it to perfection.
That’s just how God is with us. He sees our hearts and what we're made of; but He also knows what we can be, if we allow Him to renovate us from the inside out. Like my husband with boats, God is eager to work at perfecting His people. We, however are not usually eager to let Him. We're content to remain as we are. That is, until life falls apart. When things go wrong, we tend to soften and become more compliant and changeable.
The boats that come to my husband's shop for rejuvenation look aged, battle scarred, and worn out. Yet, they’re never beyond repair.
Tom often guts entire sections that have rotted. With tender care, he reconstructs them. He replaces missing parts, overhauls the engine, and refinishes the chrome. The last step in the restoration is applying layers of varnish, then sanding and polishing to produce a smooth finish in which he sees his reflection. Over several months,
Tom transforms old wrecks into trophy winners. What makes the difference? It’s the skillful hand of a craftsman who knows what he's doing.
When it comes to people, God is the master craftsman. Who better than our creator could transform our brokeness? Even renovations that we consider impossible become glorious possibilities with the master's touch.
Do you feel like a battered old boat, beaten by the rough waves and jagged rocks of life? Have you suffered misuse and neglect like a peeling, rotted hull left in the sun? Have you been used up, and tossed aside, no longer able to stay afloat in the sea of adversity?
Maybe, like an antique boat, you need a restoration.
God wants to remove from your heart the decayed parts affected by bitterness, selfishness, or other sins. Just as my husband is compelled to undertake boat projects because he’s anxious to see what it can become, God is also eager to see His purpose for us completed. His goal is a total makeover of our attitudes and actions, and He persevered until we are perfected.
God won’t rest until he’s totally reconditioned you. And if you don’t resist his makeover, you’ll become like Him. Then, like the new finish of a renovated wood boat, you will reflect the image of the one who restored you.
Though God loves you just as you are, He can't leave you that way any more than my husband can resist an old weathered boat. Tom has a gift for recognizing what’s precious, then taking what's old and worn out and making it new again. But there is a greater workman who lovingly perfects the people He loves.
Will you allow his masterful touch to restore your heart?
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APRIL IS BEAR HUGS MONTH
The Hugs and Hope Club is selling our
customized beanie bears for just $10.
Your purchase will help to grant wishes for
critically ill children. www.hugsandhope.org/bearhugs.htm
Everyone can use a bear hug!
Buy a raffle ticket and you could WIN
a new Indian motorcycle or CASH.
http://www.hugsandhope.org/bikeraffle.htm
The HUGS and HOPE Club for Sick Children is
making a difference for kids -- one smile at a time!
The Internet-based group of volunteers is devoted
to putting smiles on the faces of children
who might otherwise have little to smile about.
If you care about kids, join their ranks at www.hugsandhope.org
The smile you create just might be your own!
HUGS and HOPE was featured on WGN-TV:
http://wgntv.trb.com/news/local/eveningnews/wgntv-news-091903cvo,0,3155203.story?coll=wgntv-evening-news-4
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marsha Jordan, creator of the HUGS and HOPE Club, is a disabled grandma who cares about kids and does whatever she can to help them.
In a new book, author Thomas Baldrick calls Jordan a champion and compares her to Michael Jordan, saying: "She has done for the Internet what Michael Jordan has done for the game of basketball -- raising it to a higher level."
The book "A Million & One Ways to Celebrate a Child" is a powerful collection of real-life stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things for children. Jordan's story, entitled "Love, Happiness, and Sticky Peanut Butter" is one of the many true sources of inspiration in the book. Part of the proceeds from book sales will benefit the HUGS and HOPE Club for Sick Children.
To contact Marsha, email marsha@hugsandhope.com <mailto:marsha@hugsandhope.com> |
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