Day 9: Blog a Day for the Month of May

RESTORATION
As many of you may already know, my husband owns a VW restoration business.  Recently, I was thinking about the processes involved in restoring a car and the way that parallels with someone who has a restored live through the redemption work of Christ.

While repairing rust, Dale often has to cut out the damaged metal sections of the car and replace them.  This is something that requires time, patience and knowledge to allow the damaged section to be taken out and the new section to be put  into place.  This is similar to what God does in my life.  It often takes a while for me to get the clue that something about myself needs to change.  Then it takes the patience to work through removing the rusted and damaged areas and replace those areas with something from Him.

Trust me.....when Dale is doing a restoration on a car, there is a lot of grinding, sanding, filling, pushing and pulling that must take place in order for the old to be taken out and the new to take its place.  It is not easy! Likewise, when I feel prompted to make some changes within myself, it is hard work!  There is always a temptation to take shortcuts and hurry things along, but when I have watched Dale with a car restoration, I have learned that you can't take shortcuts.  They only become bigger problems down the road.

Once Dale gets all of the grinding, sanding, buffing, grit blasting, and welding completed, he then primes and paints the car.  When looking at the car, you do not see all of the hours of work, all of the late nights spent at the shop, all of the physical efforts it took to get the car looking like there was never any damage to begin with.  Only the one doing the restoration knows everything involved in getting the car back to beautiful!  But put the car on the car lift and Dale can show you some residue of the restoration.....minimal, yes, but there will always be some evidence that a repair, a replacement has taken place.  When God restores my soul, the evidence of a restoration is a life change....a different way that I handle myself, think about things or even treat others.  He restores and repairs me from the inside out.....but only if I let Him do the work and only if I do my part in the restoration.  God is not going to do this without a sacrifice on my part.....I must allow the restoration to take place.  In a sense, it is just me saying "yes" to the restoration work He is proposing.

When Dale tells others of the work it took to get the car back to "better than new" condition, they cannot fully understand the work it took.  While I can look at the car and appreciate the work done and Dale can explain the work in great detail to me, it is only when I get my hands in there and grind, pull, sand etc...that I really can get a grasp on what it takes to do a restoration.  I can share my life restoration stories, but I will never be able to fully convey to others what the Lord does within my heart.  The results of a soul restoration can only be fully comprehended by the one who goes through it.  The redemption and repairing power of Jesus is available to any who would say "yes" to the restoration.  Unlike a car, we must be a willing participant in the restoration work.