This past New Year’s Eve, our family moved into the recently purchased parsonage of our church where my husband serves as the assistant pastor. It is an older, custom built, spacious home full of lovely potential! With age, comes the need for repairs and updates. One project on the update side is the Breakfast Nook. It is a unique area with the most open view to sunshine than any other room in the house. The walls had been professionally wallpapered, perhaps thirty years ago. Evidently, priming the walls before papering was not part of the process back in the day. As we began to remove the paper, parts of the drywall came off with it. It was not a pretty picture, and it was going to get worse before it got better! With a goal before us, we accepted our lot, and proceeded to work in layers. Here are the steps we took.
–Carefully and tediously removed the paper.
–Filled in the damaged areas with joint compound, and let it dry overnight.
–Finely sanded the wall by hand to smooth the surface.
–Cleaned the walls and the entire house of the dust that amazingly covered everything!
–Deliberated over the perfect paint color up until the last of thirty minutes that I hunted down and waited for assistance at the Walmart paint counter. (“one stop shop” for the busy mom)
–Painted the walls “Early Morning Sun” for a cheery, bright, welcoming result!
All of this work for just the walls of one little room? Yes!
Just as this project required working on each layer, so our lives require the same type of tedious efforts if we are to shine. Consider the room of our walk with God. Am I still sporting the same dull patterns in my Bible reading habits or in my prayer life? Is my heart wall indifferently “okay” or is it like a fresh coat of paint? What about other rooms in my life? Do my beliefs line up with God’s Word? Do I just do what I do because I always have? Do I blindly follow traditions? If I am truly seeking God, I can trust the Holy Spirit to pull the old wallpaper off the wall of my heart, to fill it with Truth, to gently sand it with wisdom, and to paint my spirit bright and refreshing.
I desire to be a Christian, a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend… who has a bright and refreshing spirit reflecting the Son of God, Jesus Christ. I have a lot of work to do that involves more than just superficially covering the old wallpaper with a coat of paint.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” ~Psalm 139:23-24
“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” ~Psalm 138:8