Restoration

I saw an old dress. The top was tattered blue with a peach slip underneath showing through. The top was a V-neck with slender tares along the blue silk. The hem was unraveling at the bottom and the waist, and the slip that ran the length of the dress was somehow pulled through the waist hem, exposing another layer red.

I wanted to take this dress and tuck the slip back in, sew up the holes, replace the fabric, re do the seams, and restore this dress to something beautiful again. So much more, does Jesus do this for us. He heals us. He takes the parts of us that are destroyed, defensive, depressed, ragged, hanging out, anxious, broken, and mends us up miraculously. Restoration means that he repairs, heals, and delivers to us even more than before, ever growing. It’s a beautifully, real process that involves an active, alive, relationship and co-workmanship with God.

It’s easy to say things like I’m fine. I don’t need anything. I like the way we are. I work through things, take the bad with he good. Right. Of course, this is relevant and true, but not hardly the end. Most of us are independent, hardworking, self-sufficient people, but still have the vulnerabilities and needs in our spirits and hearts and minds that demand more. More is not the material wealth that our culture so commonly seeks for satisfaction. The more is love. The love of God. We work together with God and his Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us to develop, to cultivate our hearts desires fulfilled in our lives.

Jeremiah 30:17 “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord, because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.”

We work day in and day out, people walk miles to perform rituals, spend hours searching for ways to get ahead, struggling just to put food on the table, and truly what is the reward for our efforts and sacrifice. Does the world truly have anything to offer that is worth the suffering? We are not material creatures, but spiritual creatures that like material things.

I am not bashing materialism, we all know it is great to have nice stuff and can provide a desirable lifestyle. It is common that our daily interactions with people, with the media, with our families and friends, with politics, and activities, and when growing up can cause and encounter rejections, abuses.  We can experience inferiority, or privilege. We experience anxieties, fears, depression. We fight to be heard in our own families and jobs. We maneuver and strategize to make our way and find our light to shine.

Living with God means that this light is already acknowledged and found inside of ourselves because we understand and embrace God’s love and restoration for us. God doesn’t cast us aside. He always wants the best for us, always serves to protect and heal, and talk things through. He is always there to create and share our joys and happiness. He is always there to be a friend and a brother, and a mother, a sister, a father, and a child with us.

There is truly no one like God the Father, Jesus his son, and the spirit of God; the Holy Spirit who knows the thoughts of God just as our spirit knows our own thoughts. It is God’s spirit that reveals the person of God to us through communication and relationship. 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” As we share who we are, and open our hearts, Jesus heals our wounds and helps us to understand ourselves and the world we are living.

Prayer:

Just like mending that old dress, mend my heart, soul, and mind. Where there are defenses and bad attitudes, help there to be understanding and compassion. Where there is anger and hatred, help there to be forgiveness and peace. God, I pray you let me know your love today and that this love will open my understanding of others and allow me to love others more. Thank you for helping me to be a contributor to rich experiences with others. Help me to build others up and not tear them down. Help me to share in your healing and restoration of the human heart, mind, and spirit. I love you Lord, and thank you for the life you have given me today.