Put off your old self… to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self… - Ephesians 4:22-24
After talking about remodeling our 30-year-old bathroom for the past several years, my husband and I finally bit the bullet. And, for the first time in the history of our marriage, we hired someone else to do most of the work. We knew it would be expensive, thought it would be easy and thought it would go quickly. Except for the expensive part, we were wrong.
We’re not novices to building projects, having built three homes and doing much of the work ourselves. But as work began and sheet rock dust filled the air, we soon realized what we were in for. Our house became completely disheveled with furniture shifting, building materials staged and plastic sheeting covering carpet and doorways. Not a single room in our upper level escaped the disarray. And what we thought could be completed in a few weeks, became a few months instead—months of navigating schedules, misplaced items and endless trips to the store.
Truth is, most remodeling projects look this way, and we ultimately felt privileged to undergo the process. We now have a beautiful bathroom, updated and clean. It made me think about the spiritual remodeling we need to do at times when we recognize areas in our lives that needs to change—you know, after you’ve felt God tapping you on the shoulder about your recent attitude or that nasty habit you’ve been meaning to shake, or…you fill in the blank. Change doesn’t come easy and it’s likely to be uncomfortable in the process. But we never do it alone. God is there to rely on, equip us, and assist us, step by step. It may take longer than we’d like. But once we’ve endured the discomfort and messiness of the process, much like our newly renovated bathroom, we can say with confidence and gratitude, it was well worth it in the end.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
We are all works in progress on this side of heaven. Let’s watch for opportunities to undergo spiritual remodeling wherever it’s needed. Our aim is to become more and more like Jesus as we mature in our faith with God’s help.