more on renovations

We've been doing some renovations for nearly a year now. The builders finished long ago, but I've been slack and haven't finished off the painting and landscaping that needs to be done.

Ali made a comment the other day about not being able to remember the last time that she didn't feel "unsettled". When we talked more about it, we realised it was before our renovations started, and I agree. Our house isn't a mess or anything (well, no more than usual), it's just that as we walk around, subconsciously we know that things aren't as they should be.

So, I finally bit the bullet the other day and started to get back into painting, and as I was, I realised how much I need things to be "complete" - I love clean lines, clean painted walls, rooms that are arranged as they should be.

As I was painting the cornices in our passage on Tuesday night, I realised that God must be a renovator at heart. I'm passionate about getting our house looking "right", and I didn't even make it. How much more passionate must God be, then, about restoring us, renovating us - his creations? How much must he long for things to be "as they should be" - knowing how much more "settled" we'd feel, if only we'd let him do a DIY job on us? Sure, we function as we are, but there's so much more than merely functioning...

the miracle of renovation

I read this awesome quote today...

When a new day dawns there speaks a voice, for those who have ears to hear, the voice of God, proclaiming: ‘Here is a fresh, unspoilt opportunity! Here is a clean page of the book; and even though some of the earlier pages have been full of blunders, smudges and mistakes which shame you bitterly to think of them, here is this page, untouched and spotless, waiting for the story you will write on it today. All the past is finished and forgiven. This is your hour of opportunity. I make all things new.’

That miracle of renovation can happen every morning. And all that you require, in order to know the joy and thrill of it yourself, is the resolve to begin each day by surrendering your life to God, as definitely as if you had never done it before… Every morning, to go down on your knees and say, ‘Dear God, I don’t ask to see the distant scene; but here, for the next twenty-four hours, is my life – I give it back to you, to guard, and bless and control!’ That is why the morning seasons of prayer and communion with God before the business of the day begins are so important – they give the daily divine miracle its chance to work out in your experience, and will make all things new and fresh and fair.

JS Stewart – The Strong Name (1940)

I love that comment - "the miracle of renovation can happen every morning". Wow.

what Josh is teaching me about God #5

Last night, Josh was getting ready for bed, putting his pyjamas on, when I was struck by one of those "moments". We're trying to teach Josh how to do up buttons at the moment, but before we got to that, Josh asked me to help him put his top on (knowing that the button thing was next). I said to him "no, you can do it", to which he replied "help me, Dad".

My first instinct was to do it for him - put his shirt on, do up his buttons, but a remarkable thing came out of my mouth instead. I said "No, you do it - I am helping you, Josh". I knew that I wouldn't actually be helping him if I did it for him, but would be helping him far more if I helped him learn how to do it.

I immediately wondered how many times I call out to God, "help me, Dad". I also pondered how often God's first instinct is to take away our pain, remove our suffering, fix our problems, but in God's infinite wisdom, he chooses not to - knowing we learn far more by working through it ourselves, and that we can't become whole if someone always does up our buttons for us...

learning from sore muscles

Yesterday, I had a personal training session at my gym, and I'm pretty sore today. I told my trainer to hammer me, and he certainly did that! But I feel good, because part of the reason I wanted to see him was because lately, when I've been at the gym, I haven't felt terribly sore after, so I've wondered how much I'm achieving. I know I achieved something yesterday!

There were a bunch of things I learned from him, but one which stood out was that part of the reason I've possibly not been hurting after my sessions is because I'm trying to do too much each time, rather than focussing on one muscle group, working that hard, then working another the next time I go.

Muscle is built most effectively by ripping the muscle, then allowing it to rebuild, then ripping it again (I can vouch for that today - ow!) When I go to the gym and work too many groups at once (arms, back, legs), I don't spend time on any particular area, drilling it, ripping it, so that it rebuilds. I just give them a little workout and don't achieve much. On the other hand, if I was to go and maybe work my triceps and calves one day, then back and biceps, then shoulders, core and upper legs, I would achieve much better results. By doing less each time, but being more focussed, I would in fact do more.

That made me reflect on my personal spiritual training. I probably operate the same way as I have been at the gym - generally covering some areas, but not in a focussed way. Perhaps I would be better served to "hammer" certain areas in prayer, Bible reading, other reading - working one area part of the week, and another at other times. Could be interesting to consider...

I also think there is possibly something there about working and resting - that again, muscle is build by drilling it, then giving it time to rebuild. That seems to give me even more reason to believe that rather than thinking of life (or ministry) as a marathon (as so many have said), my notion that it is rather a series of sprints (with adequate rest in between) is more valid, because if we just keep plodding (marathon-like), we'll get somewhere, but probably lose body weight, etc. By living by working real hard, then resting well, then working again - in theory, this should make us stronger. What do you think?