Destination RESToration

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.I Peter 5:10 

Restoration – the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition. 

I’m a sucker for a good fixer upper show. Sometimes I’ll scroll through shows until I find something that I can mindlessly binge watch while I am doing a project or housework. I saw the title for one, “Restoration Road.” The Host travels the country, observes, records, and helps with various makeover projects. One of the ventures was a neat old barn and flour mill that was disassembled in one part of the country, cleaned up and reassembled in another part of the country as a souvenir and coffee shop. It really was quite fascinating. 

As I continued to scan the shows, there was another one just called “Restored.” This host, restoration expert Brett Waterman, looked directly into the camera and stated, “I don’t want to make something different out of an old building or home, I want to restore it to its original purpose; Restoration is my passion.” 

I had to rewind and listen a couple of times to grasp what the host was saying. He didn’t want to make a restaurant out of grain silos, though that’s a unique idea. He didn’t want to make a barn into a wedding venue, though that is quite the trend. He didn’t want to change the structure or footprint of the house or building. His goal is to bring back to life a home or building, restoring it to its original purpose and original beauty. 

During one of the restoration projects, he was peeling off layers of wallpaper and drywall to reveal beautiful wood underneath. You could hear him exclaiming, “Oh man, oh wow!” He was removing STUFF, some seemingly good, some rotted, but somewhere along the line, it was “stuff” that someone thought would make the house look better or function better, but in reality, it was just covering up the scars, the beauty, and the original purpose of the home.  He was getting excited about the beauty and foundation that was within this old and seemingly run down, dilapidated house. 

Do you ever feel like an old run-down building, searching for the beauty within? Do you have trouble seeing yourself the way God sees you? Have you just added “stuff” to make yourself look or feel better? Does some of that “stuff” need to be peeled away so the beauty within is revealed? Do you need restoration to your original purpose?  

I Peter 5:10 says “ …”, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. And I Corinthians 3:10 tells us that foundation is Jesus Christ. “Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. …¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.”

Over the next several weeks, we will explore the need for and process of restoration and how He is equipped and ready with the tools to make our lives into a masterpiece.

Something interesting about a fixer upper, the house doesn’t do a thing but stand there. It is an object of the restorer. The house cannot fight back, nor does it have a say in the matter of its design or purpose. Unlike us, it really is an inanimate object. As we are the object of the restorative process, we can fight it, we can try to bend the will of the Master Builder to ours, but the process will yield more exquisite results if we surrender to the One who has the power for true restoration – the act of bringing us back to His original purpose and beauty. 

My husband’s parents moved many times throughout their lifetime. Sometimes it was to a beautiful new home, but often it was one that needed a lot of TLC. Every time, his mom would say, “This place has potential.” 

Friends, we are His temple, we are His home, and this place (our hearts) has potential.  

Today, we need to think like Abraham. We must confidently look forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10

True restoration is the act of bringing something back to its original purpose.

Will you let Him do that for you?

My name is Keri Willis. I am a semi-retired educator. I spent a great deal of my career working with adults with developmental disabilities and many years in elementary education, in the classroom and as an administrator. My main ministry now is coordinating the women’s ministry for our church in San Diego, CA. I have been married thirty-four years and have two grown and married children. I now have a head of full grey hair and good ideas. I believe we are created to use our gifts and to be creative. That comes in many forms for me. I love to woodwork and use power tools, design, decorate, garden, and create new recipes. And I love to write. One major lesson I have learned in my writing journey is that I need to be still and listen to hear God’s voice before I am prepared to put into words the message he has instilled in my heart. This has been much easier since I am no longer working full time, but it is so easy to get distracted and not listen, which almost always ends with an empty page in the form of writer’s block. While I have written many articles for newsletters and local newspapers, I did not consider myself a writer until I self-published my first book, Teapots and Power Tools. https://www.amazon.com/Teapot.../dp/1466458763/ref=sr_1_3... The idea emerged as I was working on a project in my garage. I had worship music playing, power tools out and saw dust flying. I glanced up and saw my delicate teapot sitting on my router table. The message was clear. Sometimes we are using the power tools God gives us and sometimes he just wants us to be still and have tea with him. The book became the foundation for a women’s retreat, and then my amazing niece helped me work through publishing it on Create Space (now KDP). At least five other projects are in different stages of production. I joined hope*writers to help motivate me and keep me focused and accountable. I am still trying to figure out the whole website and blog thing. That is my next goal for myself; that and finish writing at least one of my projects! Teapots and Power Tools: Effectively using the tools God has equipped you with, while taking time to “Be Still and Know That He is God” View more posts