He Restores

"He restores my soul."

I like to watch House Hunters. But most of the people on that show are not looking to buy heaps and to renew them to beauty. They want perfection. They reject wrong paint colors.

It has become a tradition in my family to buy homes that need to be restored. You can buy them cheap, because they lack so much. My sister once bought a house that had to be completely gutted  -- because it had a sweet corner cabinet and a beautiful old window in the living room. Every member of our family helped to rip out the bad, to clean up the serviceable, and to build back what could not be repaired.

When you are buying a property to restore,
you aren't looking so closely at its flaws, its failures.
Because you intend to make it what it should be.

Is it ugly?
Yes, but it will be beautiful.
Is it smelly?
Yes, but it will smell good when I am done with it.
Is its foundation sagging?
We'll pour in support.

The skill of the workman is the most important factor.
Can He do the work?
Can He afford the materials?

But what a joy to see restoration.
And our Father, the Master Builder, sees the value of our souls.
When He takes ownership, He sets to work.
He knows how to do it, and He can afford to fix it.
And as much joy as I get in thinking about my house being a beautiful little home instead of the tired old hole it was when I bought it -- I think He is truly delighted to restore our dirty, mold-saturated, maintenance-neglected lives with weak foundations and faulty wiring into the very temple of the Holy Spirit.
And He lives there while He works.

For it is not ourselves that we preach; 
we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, 
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" 
is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, 
to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ. 
~2 Corinthians 4:5,6