A work in progress

We spent much of late July painting out schoolroom/playroom.  This wouldn't have been a long task or a hard task . . . except for the wallpaper that was covering several of the walls.  Scraping it off gave me lots of time to think.

The wallpaper and border in this room was put up by the previous owners, and while it had served its purpose in beautifying the room then, it was now dated.  Do you ever realize that there is something in your life that you originally thought was good, but that over time you've moved beyond it and are ready for the better?  As I scraped at the clinging bits of wall paper, I couldn't help but think about all those things that seemed like such good ideas at the time, but that later ended up having more control over me than was beneficial.  And when God calls them to your attention, you have to begin the long and messy task of letting Him scrape them away.

How often do I expect the changes in my life to be instant?  To go straight from the spiritual before to after pictures?   But big change usually doesn't work that way.  God starts to peel off our layers, exposing the glue of the false beliefs or the lies.  He soaks us in His truth, which loosens the guck that has been clinging to us.  And then little by little it is scraped off.  Sometimes a huge section will peel off at once, other times a tiny section seems to defy ever coming loose.  And in the process it gets messy.  Little by little though, the change takes place.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  Philippians 1:6