I realise with horror that it is over two weeks since I last wrote a blog post! Needless to say, life has been hectic. The last two weeks, leading up to and including my book launch were a roller coaster ride, in the sense that each day seemed to hurtle by, sweeping me along with excitement, a definite adrenaline rush. It all went so well! The blog tour was AMAZING and I am so grateful to all of those who wrote such glowing reviews, and designed such creative interviews. And the Book Launch went better than I could have imagined, with my high class tech team beside me. It was a truly lovely evening and so many came! I was left feeling well and truly launched!
This week is a whole other kettle of fish. We have long planned to have extensive building work done to the house, but as with most things recently there have been delays, and more delays. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, a builder was available and willing to start at Easter! So panic stations have ensued. We agreed… ‘let’s get the book launch out of the way, and then it is all systems go’. The whole ground floor has to be emptied or packed away. So we have been hurriedly packing, and sorting and shifting. Yesterday we finally emptied the kitchen cupboards and hubby started to demolish them…with relish! It is a very old kitchen and desperately in need of updating.
I hastily took some pictures so that we could have some for the obligatory before and after pictures, once the work is completed. The reality is that will be some weeks before I have a proper kitchen back. It has been a dilapidated kitchen, and a quirky one, but it was my kitchen, and I have managed to feed my family from it successfully for over 10 years (we thought we would be replacing it long before now!) Now the kitchen is a true mess, and the next few days before we are forced to move out, will be a bit like cooking whilst camping.
Transformation is always an unsettling and often uncomfortable process. It can get very messy in the middle. It might be that we know that change is necessary, and it will be worth it, but the pain of the process can be daunting, off putting even. So it is spiritually. God is in the business of transformation. We come to Him with all our imperfections, functioning ok maybe, but definitely with room for improvement. And He begins a transformation process that bit by bit makes us more and more like Him. And this process can be messy, painful, unsettling, but we need to allow Him to make those changes, and not resist or hold back out of fear of the process. We need to trust Him and allow Him to do what He needs to do in us. The mess will be worth it.
Another thought struck me as I took those photos of my half demolished mess of a kitchen. I can picture what the new kitchen will look like, imagine the shiny new cupboard doors and silky smooth worktops, the flashy new stove and the wood effect floor. I am trusting that what I picture in my mind WILL actually become a reality. When God looks at messy old me, He doesn’t see the flaws and imperfections that I see, instead He already sees me as He has designed me to be. In His eyes I am already perfect. The finished article. Because when He looks at me, He sees Jesus.
