Skip to main content

Transformation


It had to have been the most rundown house in the neighborhood. Neglect had left it faded, without windows and screens in the upstairs. A rusty garage door hung unevenly and the wooden fence that circled the house hardly stood by itself as it feebly attempted to conceal the backyard junkyard. It seemed to have been a host for various people, for there were always several cars parked out in front, although individuals were not often seen. But something now has changed.

They started by tearing down the old fence and filling dumpsters with endless stuff. A crew of people worked all day, digging, trimming, throwing out, from the inside of the house all the way to the outside yard. They scrubbed and painted quite quickly, and even within one week, change was evident.

It now looks livable with borders trimly etched. The rose bushes in the front have shown off their blossoms that were hidden so long by debris. New windows and frames, fresh paint for the stucco, a real back yard with grass and cedar fence, all make it now quite presentable and sell able.

Transformation at work, a process, not yet finished, yet to be complete by new owners that will one day move in. Transformation is a process even in my life as well; new design, redesign, a cleaning out of old thoughts and ways that may entangle my growth. Ultimately, new growth and vitality will come as I leave myself open to the Transforming One.

". . And have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. . ."
(Colossians 3:11)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

But . . .

  I had to pause for a moment, as I began reading the text this early morning.  But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly:  they became stubborn and would not listen to Thy commandments."  (Nehemiah 9:18).    How often do I find myself verbalizing "but? what about? what then? what if? really?" All the phrases that feed doubt and angst into my life are found in that one conjunction.  Memory stands as the faithful argument against it, but when faced with future days all seems easily forgotten.  This verse comes to a people who had returned to their homeland after being ravaged and exiled by foreign powers.  Nehemiah is reminding them of who they are, and especially of their one and only God who has forever been faithful to them despite  their faithlessness and wrongdoing.  He reminds them how God is a God of forgiveness, slow to anger, longsuffering, overflowing with lovingkindness, never forsaking them even when He was totally forgott...
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer Breeze

  Gypsy Rose immediately prances to the back door as she hears her name.  We are ready for our morning walk, which has started later than usual, since I have some of these summer days off.  But it is still early enough to catch the morning breeze.  Walking south, I am refreshed by feeling the gentle wind all around me, it's a cool wrap in contrast to the summer sun.  But it all seems to disappear as I turn the corner and head west, my summer breeze is gone.  I am at a loss for it even as I continue north and east.  It's only as I begin the southern sidewalks back home that I am met with the blissful breeze.  I realize that though I wasn't feeling it for most of my steps, it was there all along, I just had to turn the right direction to get relief . . .  Sometimes, that is how my relationship with God seems.  Yes, I know He is ever near and is with me, but I don't feel that fact.  Sometimes my prayers seem to be in a vacuum, and I'm ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brief Moments of Grace

  "But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place,  that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a  little reviving in our bondage." (Ezra 9:8)   Summer welcomes me today with a cloudy cool morning and a subtle fresh breeze.  The day is probably teasing me with moderate temperatures before it will launch into more robust sunlight and heat.  The scorching temperatures have given an abundance of tomatoes, bush beans and yellow squash in my garden, while tormenting the kale, cilantro, spinach and herbs.  My refreshment is found swimming laps in the pool and teaching or rather reminding Gypsy Rose to stay in her lane while we swim together.  Days seem to run together, slip away too fast, as I often feel locked in a routine of sleep, work, cook, repeat. I know that I need to pause and reflect, because even in that daily ritual are God's brief moments of gr...
Post a Comment
Read more