New (almost)
IICorinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Sometimes I get in a “mood” to clean. But, not just clean…I want things to look new. But, being the tight-wad that I am (and not having an endless checking account), I cannot just go buy something “new” because I feel like it…or because I think it will make me feel better. So I do something that I learned from my mama many years ago. I RE-ARRANGE!! It is amazing to me how just simply re-arranging furniture can make an entire room look brand new…well almost. Of course it would be super to have at least one thing new in the mix, but sometimes that is just not possible. On days like that I get my old clothes on, cleaning supplies in hand and start the process. First, I stand and look at the room for what seems like forever. Trying to envision what would look good where. Then I start the process of moving and cleaning. Of course when you move one piece, even though you may not have wanted to move another one…because you moved the first piece, that makes all the others need to be moved as well. Wow, that sentence make me tired just typing it…not to mention having done it! Samson (my dog) was so displaced he couldn’t figure out where to lay while I moved stuff. He wasn’t much help…(-:
I love re-arranging…but sometimes I get side-tracked. Like today. I couldn’t resist looking inside the boxes that I found underneath my bed. And I couldn’t look in one and not the others. I found some wonderful treasures…a letter from my mom written to me when I was 19. A certificate that Rick received when he went through VBS as a kid. Notes and pictures the kids had made for me when they were little. Poems that Rick wrote to me early in our dating relationship. Cards and pictures galore. Priceless treasures…
Usually when I re-arrange a room I am excited to see what the end result will be. Sometimes, I do all the work of moving things, only to discover that it looks horrible. When that happens I end up putting things back where they were originally. All that time and effort wasted. Today was not one of those days. One piece moved led to another piece being moved until finally…it was done. And I loved how it looked…and felt.
That’s kind of how it is with God. He says that when He gets hold of us and starts re-arranging…He takes the old and somehow makes EVERYTHING new! The old is gone….we become new in Him. But, that process of re-arranging can be painful…hard and long. So many pieces and parts of us that need moved…discarded…cleaned up or thrown away. But, there are also some things that may be buried in us that seem useless. But to God…when placed in His hands…become priceless. Things from our past that only God Himself can redeem and turn them into priceless treasures. What a wonderful, loving Father we serve. To know that as He re-arranges us and makes us new…moving all our individual pieces into the exact place that He wants them to be…He also redeems that we thought was lost forever.
My room now has a new look. The same old pieces of furniture…same quilt…same curtains…same old chair that I love so…but…when I walk into the room…it FEELS different. It feels “new”. Re-arranged…cleaned…uncluttered…redeemed. Just like my life. In Jesus…He does make all thing new!
Sending much love,
Debbie
