I am so looking forward to have a proper work space where I can just be quietly and creatively behind my laptop, looking out the window at the trees and the birds. I have all the Pinterest pics. But first I have to scrape down old paint on the walls.
I spent the whole morning scraping down thick layers of old paint and realised that I have so much respect for builders that have to do this every day. They are such a blessing to us. As well as those who scrub floors without gloves and don't have face masks while doing their daily chores in clouds of dust and dirt. There are many like them for whom we rarely have a concern.
(I also realised that I can keep my kids busy by giving them chalk to write on the open spaces - hungry, awesome, great, bored, banana - they write the weirdest things, but it creates some interesting conversation).
And while having nothing much to do except grocery shopping and scraping walls, I realised that we were made for times like this.
We were absolutely made for times of rest, wait, quiet - times to think and reset. Times that God are giving us amidst chaos and uncertainty, in the middle of storms and trauma. Times like the seventh day in Genesis 1 and a silent Saturday before the resurrection. The times of Psalm 23: "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul."
And I realised that we were made for times like this.
He makes us lie down. He makes us scrape walls when things have slowed down. He gives us times like these so that we can renew our minds and refresh our souls. In the suffering of scraping down my study room walls, I am stilled by the thought that God is scraping off a few unnecessary layers that have been clouding my mind too. He is working intentionally with me and making me aware of things I haven't done or said or listened to for a very long time. I have new appreciation for ordinary things and people, I have a longing passion to bring hope and create.
We are not supposed to do the same thing every day and every year for the rest of our lives. We are to grow and become new and create new things and new thoughts we haven't pursued before. We are meant to be rerouted and sidetracked to get a better understanding and a clearer purpose.
I never wanted to be a builder, but maybe I will be an excellent wall scraper after this. I don't fancy cooking and cleaning (hypothetically speaking) but maybe I do have the skill to dish up an Italian lasagne from heaven. If I can renovate an old room, I can certainly renovate my job, my marriage, my relationships. What are the new things I can add to my routine? What are the new patterns that are locked up behind my hard-baked layers?
If you find yourself at a stop street in life, use the momentary pause to create new things, new pathways, new thinking, new hope. There is always new creation when you are prepared to scratch deeper than the surface.
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