…and now, for the rest from Sadie:)
My two older children who live with their father come to stay with us every summer. I recently decided that this year is going to be memorable in that we will take out the time and money needed to enjoy a small (by some standards) family vacation. Last week I spent several hours researching family friendly vacation spots in the LA / TX areas. Having never before stayed in a bed and breakfast, I decided to look up what made these overnight accommodations so special and worth the extra money. I read beautiful and enticing descriptions of old, historic homes, inns and plantations from past generations that sounded like a dream come true. One by one I noticed that the brief summaries had one word in common with each other, “restored“.
I clicked on the link of one that said, “read article further” and the words almost jumped off of the page and into my spirit. It simply stated the following, “Restoration is the process of accurately depicting the form, features and character of a property as it once appeared in a particular time period by removal of features from other periods and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period.” WOW! Call me a geek, but that is powerful when we realize that God does this in our own lives.
Before we can be restored and reestablished back into the existence of His original will and plans for our lives, we must be purchased. As a redeemed backslider myself, I fully understand and feel the weight of where you have been, what you are still going through as well as the growing pains to come. But I believe that part of the evolution (so to speak) is in realizing that the debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is paid in full! Also, we must come to grips with that fact that God does not leave us as He finds us. We have not been absentmindedly placed on the back shelf behind all of His trophies to simply take up room and collect dust. Being purchased by His blood and filled with the Holy Ghost was just the first step of a beautiful and sometimes hard process.
Hosea 14:4 “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.”
Jeremiah 32:38“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:”
Imagine with me the Lord going to an estate sale. He patiently waits and watches as other potential buyers pick through the piles of discarded household items. Wonderful treasures, beautiful vases, vintage jewelry and antiques with still obvious value are all quickly snatched up and proudly carried away leaving only a broken, worn out and undesirable remnant of what once must have been a very useful piece of furniture.
Without an attempt of haggling, He quietly pays the asking price and tenderly carries it home. With discerning eyes and skilled hands He very carefully tests the wood and determines the best method of removing the layers of paint, varnish, wax and oils. Slowly and methodically He applies just the the right amount of cleaning mixtures with a cloth, taking care not to let the wood get too wet and preventing further damage. He patiently alternates between scraping, buffing and stripping away the old finishes to make room for a new stain. Stepping back to admire His work thus far, he smiles at the raw beauty while in-visioning the finished product with it’s missing parts having been recreated and replaced.
Forbearingly, He constructs and molds the absent components fitting and cementing them into their rightful place. Allowing for drying time in between each added detail, the process takes many countless hours and much faithful endurance. Upon it’s completion, this piece of furniture that had previously been believed to be of no more use to anyone has now been transformed into a thing of great beauty with a value far outweighing even it’s original asking price.
Romans 9:26 “And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”
We too are the Lord’s invaluable masterpieces, remade into usable furnishings for the Kingdom. He paid the ultimate price by willingly sacrificing His life. He painstakingly cleans and recreates us and yes, even wants to use us in His kingdom to fulfill His desires and plans for our lives. I pray that we as women of God will see our worth as He sees us, that we will realize the we have been made new not to be tossed aside but to be used for His glory and to bring hope and peace to others. May we become aware that the broken and missing pieces are being filled and replaced by stronger ones. And that in spite of decades of listening to the Pharisees of our present world, it has always been the purpose of Calvary and the explanation of the Blood atonement to restore all humanity with its creator. Restoration should be the only message for the end-time!
Whether you are a Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Abigail or Ester, know that you have been redeemed restored and brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.
~Sadie
***if you would like to read more inspirational and encouraging words from Sadie, you can find her at http://sadiesjourney2joy.blogspot.com
