Messy Redos

We are in the midst of redoing parts of our kitchen—and what a mess! Now in our third week, we can hardly wait to get everything emptied out of the kitchen cabinets back where it belongs.  Our living and dining rooms are full of dishes, glasses, pots and pans, and cleaning supplies.  Sheets of plastic hang from the ceiling around the kitchen to protect the rest of the house. Despite the best efforts of the workmen, however, there is a layer of dust on everything, and the smell of paint is giving my husband a daily headache.

Why deliberately make such a mess? Fixing problems brought on by time often requires making things seem worse before they get better.

My heart is similar to my kitchen.
When I ignore it, its condition deteriorates over time. It’s so easy to let sins creep in—selfishness, apathy toward others and the things of God, spiritual laziness, envy of the success of others, or any number of other issues. To relate to God and others well, I have to dig out the dirt to let God clean me out and refurbish me.

The process is messy; the truth about myself requires uncovering the bad instead of hiding it, even from myself. The end result of spiritual refreshment and renewal, however, is worth the mess it creates.

In our crazy and busy culture, it’s so easy to let our sins and issues go, never giving them a thought. Instead, why don’t we all open up the hidden attitudes we have buried? Let’s allow God to clean us out and restore our hearts and our relationships with him. The messy redo is worth it.