Remove and Repair

While many of my friends were basking in the sun of Florida or Cancun during Spring Break, I camped out in my daughter’s bedroom. She’s still at college, so she didn’t mind. Actually, she was pretty pleased that I’d spend my vacation in her room because it needed to be remodeled. Her room was a mess and had been in need of a makeover for quite awhile.
Remodeling is hard work and really comes in two stages; remove and repair. The remove or destruction phase seems like the most fun but it really wasn’t. It’s messy and painful. Of course, before could do anything to Kati’s room, all the furniture had to be carried to the garage. Then we had sort through all her stuff and decide what was worth keeping what could be thrown away. Walls were then sanded, holes were patched, carpet was ripped out, trim was pulled, garbage cans were filled, and the dust was swept. At this in the project, I’m usually left with the feeling, “Oh, my! What have I done? This place is destroyed! Look at all the work we have to do!” However, that is also the time when the dream of what the room could be like begins to seem possible. Despair over the mess turns to an energy to accomplish making the room new and beautiful. So, the construction or repair begins.
A fresh of coat paint with a new color reshapes the feel of the room. A beautiful wood laminate floor replaces the dingy, dirty, worn, old carpet. New oak trim accents the floor and windows. The furniture, cleaned and painted, is moved back into the room. The bed is covered with a new comforter and pillows. The windows are treated with new blinds. Pictures are hung again. This mess of a room is now a new place. It’s fresh, bright, clean and inviting. It’s been restored. It’s been transformed. It’s made new through a ton of effort, purpose, planning, pain and investment. But, it was worth it!
I recently heard a speaker make this statement about transformation. He said, “Change often comes when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change.” Ouch! But, I had to agree with him. Too often, I wait to change a mess in my life until the pain of remaining with the mess hurts enough for me to move. I think there’s a hope that if I do nothing the mess will go away. One person’s definition of insanity is “Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.”
So... are doing the same ol' thing, disappointed with the results over and over?
Which pain is driving you today, the pain of staying the same of the pain of changing? Start a spiritual remodel project today. Get busy with removing and repairing.