Layers of Ick

It's no secret that I love looking at houses that are on the market.  All the potential and possibilities.  Knock down that wall.  Paint that room that color.  Add a bigger window.  With a husband as a carpenter, the possibilities are virtually endless.

I remember going into almost every home we could afford and finding one area to peek to see if there were hardwood flooring under the carpet.  You know you've done it too - any of you who've looked at character homes!  That small moment where you hang in the balance between bliss and blech!  You carefully peek in a closet corner and ..... it's hardwood!  The world can rejoice!

I found myself thinking about this as I dozed off last night and knew I had to share my revelation.  I am like that flooring.  I've got a lot of nasty, yucky, filthy ick that needs to be stripped away to reveal the protected perfection that I could be.  The bad news:  it takes work.  Lots of work.  But the potential is there, and my Creator sees it.  He's waiting for me to ask him to put on his workin' gloves and help me rip away at the layers of ugly that cover up what He has always known was there.

The good news:  while it might be hard, it's do-able.  Not on my own, obviously.  Nor would I want to try and restore myself alone.  But that silver lining that can imagine a more perfect me drives me to continue pulling up and tossing out what should not be there.

I am a work in progress.  And like the hardwood flooring in a character home, even after I'm restored (per say) there will still be nicks, dents & scratches that remind me of where I've been.  And that's how I would want it to be.  Because not remembering where you've come from, won't allow you to praise Him for the blessings of where you are today.

And just to show you how nasty the "stripping away" can be... here's a picture from when we gutted our upstairs bedrooms.