Renovation!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!

My husband, Danny, and I have wanted to replace the carpeting in all three bedrooms with wood floors since we got married almost ten years ago (Our kitchen, dining area, living room, and hallway already enjoy this blessing).  But with two cats and a dog, not to mention Danny's boys just entering their teen years, we decide the time is not right.  There are other, more pressing issues with regards to our house.  Wood floors are a luxury.  We can live with the carpet for now.

Fast forward to 2014.  No more dog.  No more cats.  Only one son, now grown and, fortunately for us, a neat freak, we begin discussing this home improvement project in earnest.  The carpet is 23-years-nasty.  No amount of stain removal or cleaning can revive its weary nap.  To top things off, the carpet which was in our downstairs room had to be ripped up and discarded two years ago due to the lingering, tell-tale odor touting a history of our cats' territorial squabbles.  A concrete slab belongs in the garage, not in our home! 

Here are some "before" photos ~

We plan carefully for this huge renovation, doing things step by step, putting money aside every month until Danny feels we can comfortably handle the expense.  We are fortunate to find out about a flooring company managed by the son of one of Danny's co-workers.  As we've already checked with other companies in the business, we know, when we get the quote, that we've landed a true deal.

This is how our living room looked after we emptied all closets in preparation.

When the long-awaited day for installation finally arrives, we are beside ourselves with excitement.  We are so ready for this change, for the old to be gone and the new to be here!  In my mind's eye, I try to imagine the transformation about to take place.  But nothing prepares me for the beauty and elegance which greets me when the job is completed.

Danny and I are completely overwhelmed.  We both feel as though we've moved into a brand new home.  And I can't help but think that's exactly what it feels like the moment we invite Jesus into our lives.  He takes up all the soiled and sinful carpets in us, carries them out the door, and renovates us with resplendent hope and an abundant life through His gifts of love, grace and forgiveness.  Jesus changes us from the inside out so that we may become more and more like Him every day and constantly growing in faith.

Jesus wants to make us new.

Will you, have you, let Him?

Prayer:  Father, it is my prayer today that someone who does not yet know You will read this post and be moved to take one step closer to accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  I pray also for those who have become new creations in Christ, that they would continue to grow in Your love and Your grace.  In the name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen.