GOD, THE ULTIMATE FIXER-UPPER

The advent and popularity of “do-it-yourself” and “fixer upper” television shows have broadened my appeal for watching amateurs or professionals take a dilapidated or older home and turn it into a stunning new residence. When I was a child I often accompanied my dad to properties that were being demolished as he was the first person I ever knew who found a way to “repurpose” lumber, fixtures, windows, etc. that otherwise would have made their way to the city dump. In the past few years, I’ve watched my oldest adult niece find pieces of furniture on curbsides, take them home and with a lot of elbow grease, sanding, repairing and applying a fresh coat of stain or paint, she’s turned someone else’s discarded trash into beautiful pieces that have been sold to new homes. I guess you could say that “restoring” and “repurposing” is a generational trait in my family!

Such it is with God, too!

Last week I wrote about Step #1 from the Celebrate Recovery program, stating our admission that compulsive behaviors or addictions cause our lives to become unmanageable. In Step #2 we “came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity”. I think we all know the opposite of being sane, which is insane, further popularized by the definition of “doing something over and over again expecting a different result”. That repetitive behavior is a character flaw of our human nature. Left to our own devices, we will most certainly fail.

When my dad or niece have restored a broken piece of furniture, sometimes a different method was used to repair wood that had lots of scratches, missing pieces or several layers of paint full of cracks and wrinkles. I remember when a downtown fourier business in Saginaw suffered a fire, my dad was allowed to go into the building and look around the debris. He spied a washstand that had all its pieces intact, but the top portion of the mirror frame was scorched from the flames. He literally carried the washstand home under his arms. Using his woodworking skills he reassembled the stand, made new pieces, stripped away the old stain and applied fresh color when the wood was ready. He even salvaged the marble slab that was part of the stand and this beautiful antique was part of their living room for many years. In order to retain a “piece of its story”, he left the blackened portion of the mirror’s frame, a reminder of what the washstand had endured as well as an interesting focal point for conversation.  Although the washstand no longer served its  original purpose of holding a wash basin, it became the perfect place for a lamp that served as a “night light” in the late hours of the evening. 

God is in the business of “restoring” and “repurposing” our lives, too. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”. If we imagine and admit that sometimes our lives are broken, that they are messy, and for some people, hopeless, we CAN come to Him for the renewal we need. The beauty of Celebrate Recovery is that we who attend meetings are there because we want to rather than someone demanding our attendance. Most who attend gladly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the higher power that the 12 Step programs talk about in their meetings. Yet, no one is ever forced to believe in Jesus to be part of this wonderful recovery program. An invitation to know God and come into relationship with Him is always offered and the majority of men and women who attend weekly meetings are followers of Christ.

Another piece of furniture my dad brought home was a huge heavy sideboard cabinet. He had made an inspection visit to a home one morning and noticed the cabinet. It was made from solid cherry wood, was in very poor condition and to his dismay dirty soiled diapers were piled on its counter area. Dad was able to ask the homeowners if they would be willing to part with the sideboard, asked them to discuss a fair price and give him a call at his office. He was shocked when they told him he could have it for “free”. Apparently, they had attached no sentiment or value to the item. After cleaning it up, stripping it and refinishing the wood, it became a dining room piece in my parents home for years until my brother took it for his own home. Dad had a piece of marble that he was able to fit on that sideboard, too. He always seemed to find free treasures and have just the right stuff at home in his woodshop to complete a project. That’s how God works, too. 

He has all the right circumstances and pieces to put us back together when we’ve allowed life’s hurts, habits and hangups to wear us down, strip us of our original beauty, or thwart our purpose. He can accomplish renewal and restoration for us by Himself or use others as part of the plan which is another beautiful aspect of Celebrate Recovery. Although we work on our own “stuff”, we have friends who listen, encourage, support, pray, but never try to “fix” us. He may allow us to be “refined” by going through His fire, and like the scorched wood of my dad’s antique wash stand, also give permission for visible scars to remain and be a reminder of His handiwork. 

Writing this week’s article allowed me to fondly recall the numerous things my dad brought home to “fix” rather than see it go to the dump. Some things DO belong in the trash, but not everything. That’s the way it is for us humans, too. Many habits are trashed. Hurts need to be talked about. Hang ups need to be redirected. And to make that possible, we make a decision to tap into the Higher Power of Jesus Christ!