So...yesterday, in a quiet moment, while I was rocking the baby, God revealed something to me. This doesn't happen all that often, so I wanted to share it, so I don't forget it.
I was thinking about an argument I had with my husband, earlier in the day. We don't argue a lot, but when we do, I'm usually the more argumentative of the two of us. It wasn't even something that important. Something we've had over before. If I had simply let it blow over, my anger would never have gotten the better of me. But, I had to start. And once I started, I kept on.
I thought, while I was rocking the baby, about how I had once been "transformed" by God, 7 years ago now. And now, I feel like I've backslidden. God gave me this vision:
It was like when we first bought our house. It wasn't a brand new house, but it looked nice. The previous owners had given it a facelift, more or less. Underneath the fresh paint, we discovered that the walls had no insulation. The seams between sheets of gyproc hadn't been taped, and began to crack the paint. The cheap peel-and-stick tiles on the kitchen floor began to peel up around the corners, and break off. The subfloors were cheap flakeboard, instead of sturdy plywood. The windows and doors were old and drafty, and needing to be replaced. I also didn't know how to properly look after a house. We tore it all apart to renovate, but the renovations kept getting back-burnered. And I was a terrible housekeeper. So, the house was a giant mess. Dusty, dirty, dishes & laundry piled everywhere, overrun with too many animals. We never kept the yard nice, or the lawn regularly mowed. We never even picked up the doggy "mines" off the front lawn. The whole property fell into disrepair.
Then, we finally did it! We hired a carpenter--someone who really knew what he was doing--to help us out of our mess. The house looks amazing now! It's truly a brand new house inside. The yard still needs a little work, but it's not bad! The outside of the house still needs a little tlc, but we're getting there, a bit to a time. I even bought some pots of chrysanthemums to dress up the doorsteps a little.
And now, I've learned to be a much better housekeeper. So, I'm confident that when we move back in, it will stay clean & nice, most of the time.
So to sum it all up, the vision was this: God did transform me, back in 2004. But, underneath, I still needed work. I intended to stick with it, I really did. But I let it slide. And, of course, it snowballed on me, and became overwhelming. I didn't do the things I needed to to keep growing spiritually. But NOW, it's time!! It's time to re-build, and make my "house" truly BRAND NEW, and better than it's ever been before!! I need to learn how to maintain my spiritual "temple", in all areas--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Then I need to make those things a habit, and a priority. My lack of physical health may be more obvious to most people, but I need to renew my spiritual health just as much! Now...I just need to "hire" the right help. :)
I was thinking about an argument I had with my husband, earlier in the day. We don't argue a lot, but when we do, I'm usually the more argumentative of the two of us. It wasn't even something that important. Something we've had over before. If I had simply let it blow over, my anger would never have gotten the better of me. But, I had to start. And once I started, I kept on.
I thought, while I was rocking the baby, about how I had once been "transformed" by God, 7 years ago now. And now, I feel like I've backslidden. God gave me this vision:
It was like when we first bought our house. It wasn't a brand new house, but it looked nice. The previous owners had given it a facelift, more or less. Underneath the fresh paint, we discovered that the walls had no insulation. The seams between sheets of gyproc hadn't been taped, and began to crack the paint. The cheap peel-and-stick tiles on the kitchen floor began to peel up around the corners, and break off. The subfloors were cheap flakeboard, instead of sturdy plywood. The windows and doors were old and drafty, and needing to be replaced. I also didn't know how to properly look after a house. We tore it all apart to renovate, but the renovations kept getting back-burnered. And I was a terrible housekeeper. So, the house was a giant mess. Dusty, dirty, dishes & laundry piled everywhere, overrun with too many animals. We never kept the yard nice, or the lawn regularly mowed. We never even picked up the doggy "mines" off the front lawn. The whole property fell into disrepair.
Then, we finally did it! We hired a carpenter--someone who really knew what he was doing--to help us out of our mess. The house looks amazing now! It's truly a brand new house inside. The yard still needs a little work, but it's not bad! The outside of the house still needs a little tlc, but we're getting there, a bit to a time. I even bought some pots of chrysanthemums to dress up the doorsteps a little.
And now, I've learned to be a much better housekeeper. So, I'm confident that when we move back in, it will stay clean & nice, most of the time.
So to sum it all up, the vision was this: God did transform me, back in 2004. But, underneath, I still needed work. I intended to stick with it, I really did. But I let it slide. And, of course, it snowballed on me, and became overwhelming. I didn't do the things I needed to to keep growing spiritually. But NOW, it's time!! It's time to re-build, and make my "house" truly BRAND NEW, and better than it's ever been before!! I need to learn how to maintain my spiritual "temple", in all areas--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Then I need to make those things a habit, and a priority. My lack of physical health may be more obvious to most people, but I need to renew my spiritual health just as much! Now...I just need to "hire" the right help. :)
1 comment:
That's beautiful, Laura! I'm so happy to hear that you are growing. I find myself drifting back and forth at times, too, but God's pretty awesome and patient, hey? :)
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