I was at the resource center on Katy and my friend who helps me casually mentioned that there was a workshop coming up the following week to introduce a new line of products for antiquing mirrors, refinishing furniture and waking up accessories. I seldom do these kinds of things but I did put it on my calendar and yesterday I woke up with a real nudge to attend.
What I thought was going to be a "how to" experience turned out to be a heartfelt testimonial relating old, worn out, worthless looking pieces that have been over used, trashed, abandoned, and scarred, as a backdrop for how we often times view ourselves when we have experienced past mistakes, tough times, devastating hurts, abandonment, and forgotten purpose. I was blown away by her analogy. Pam Howard, the creative genius behind the furniture brand Amy Howard Home began her video with a tattered, beaten up, cracked mirror, that most of us would pass by. She says that she carefully studies a piece and wonders about the past; was it a one time treasure, where did it hang, what did it look like in its prime etc? And then her next thought is not how tattered the piece is but she envisions the transformation if it is placed in her hands and carefully brought back to life.
She exclaims that that is how God sees us. Not the carrier of bad mistakes, and the mark of misguided decisions, but he sees us all, as what we will be after we connect with his love, and his grace and willingly place ourselves in the hands of him, the master craftsman. Her theme is to rescue, restore and redecorate. And hardly a sentence of her video goes without proclaiming the mighty power and vision of God in our lives.
She scraped the mirror frame and removed the crumbles of the past, and methodically worked on every inch to smoothe the
delicately carved wooden casing and prepared it to accept a newly created, elegantly defined cast of gilted gold sprinkled and adhered to the tiny crevices of the purposed carvings and then painted and glazed a final coat over the transformed frame.
That is what God does to us. He helps us to scrape off the blemished pains, defeats and misguided choices of our past and transforms us one day at a time as he prepares us for the vision that only he can see but that we can imagine if we faithfully pursue his guiding way. We too are tattered through life's trials, oh but God sees us, rescues us and gives us a hope to carry on. Our purpose has already been defined by God himself but we have to be willing to accept his hand of restoration and have faith even in site of our deepest misery that God will bring us to the vision that he sees for us.
There are crevices in our hearts and minds that he will sprinkle with his golden touch, He will help us scrape off the lingering past and begin anew to be transformed by his love and grace. There is not a one of us who has not experienced that feeling of frustration, abandonment, defeat and deep, devastating pain. Sure there are some of you that have gotten an extra load but no matter how heavy your burdens are, or your regrets may be, God sees each of us as a masterpiece. A work in progress, a canvas of beauty and adornment. And that is how he wants us to envision ourselves as we lay on his worktable of grace. For we have been rescued through Jesus, and God is in the business of restoring us through the power of his Holy Spirit.
The mirror that was she as working on was really a tattered mess. And as I watched the video I was so hoping she would not stop at that image but would show us how she could take an old worn out vintage piece and make it so beautiful that it could hang with pride and dignity in one of the finest rooms. He final step was to replace the broken mirror within the frame with a new mirror that she cleverly antiqued with her her "do it yourself antique" process. And the last scene was a lap of victory. It hung in the warm glow of a beautiful lamp over a beautiful console table. It was an image transformed that reflected love, desire, attention and a passion to restore something that had been neglected, forgotten and dismissed as rubbish. She saw what could be, just as God sees us. For all those who believe in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, we too will be a scene of God's victory.
Isaiah 64:8
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
This video made me want to go to Roundtop and explore the treasures that were once center stage and have now been deemed as useless. These are just objects that can be transformed but so it is with people. Many times there is so much more to people than meets the eye, and we often pass them by with casual conversation and or ignore them completely, but with a little attention, love, extended grace and a passion to share what we know about God and his glorious powers to transform, we too can make a difference as we become a reflection of what God has done to us and for us through his transforming power.
Dear Lord, I am so blessed that you nudged me to attend this similar. Oh course you knew it would be a blessing and what a surprise to find such a testimony in this industry. And not only the testimony but the integrity of a showroom to stand in courage to show it. Help me to keep the image of the tattered mirror in my mind and remember what it was and what she knew it could be with a little love and carefully skilled craftsmanship. May I be reminded that this is what you do with all of us if only we will surrender ourselves into your hands. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment