Life Re-Do by Mary Beth Foster

See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? ~Isaiah 43: 19

Life Re-Do

I’ve decided to finally redo my son’s bedroom.  The last time I did that, he was 3. He’s now 19. Well over do.  The first time, I painted swirly skies and puffy clouds.  I put up a glow-in-the-dark moon and stars in one corner, and the sun in another.  White picket fencing lined the walls, with little insects perched on the slats.  I wanted to bring the outdoors in, and it worked.  It was a cheerful place for him to play and grow.

Now, I’m looking at walls filled with holes and tears in the drywall-from him taking down the moon and stars.  Glow-in-the-dark is not cool in the teen years!  I’m a little blue, comparing how cozy it was and what it looks like now.  I’m a little intimidated anticipating the work I’ll have to go through to change it.  I hate to paint; just thinking about the process fills me with dread. But, I’m also excited thinking about the outcome of that hard work.  I’m still in the planning phases, and there are so many choices to make.  I have to put some careful thought into this project, and want to be able to look at the end result and say “Yes, this is a place where I want to be!”

I started thinking about how this project mirrors my life right now.  I’m in a “life redo.”  I’ve just ended a long- term relationship, and am wondering what I’m going to do next.  I’m going to miss the comfortable and cozy aspects of that relationship.  This process has been hard work, getting to a place where I feel at peace with not being part of a couple.  Some times I’m intimidated by this new life I have in front of me (who will fix my car when the muffler falls off?)  There are so many choices I have to make, and I need to put careful and prayerful thought into them. But, I’m also excited about the adventures God has in store.  I want to be open to his plan for me.  I want my life to be one where He says “Yes, this is a place where I want you to be!”

So, I’m counting on His promises to bring me hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)  I know if I trust in Him, He will lead me on a straight path (Proverbs 3:6).  He will help me with my “life redo” because He knows exactly where He wants me to be.  I think about all the people from the Bible who have also experienced a life redo:  Noah, when the ark hit solid ground; Daniel, taken into exile to Babylon; Joseph, sold into slavery.  Maybe you’re going through a life redo in one form or another.  If so, take heart!  God knows what you’re going through, and He’s with you (Isaiah 41:10.)  He holds you by his right hand (Psalm 73: 23) You may have some hard work in front of you, but if you trust Him, He will lead you in a straight path, right to a place where He will say “Yes, this is a place where I want you to be!”

Action step:

Are you trusting in the Lord to make your paths straight? Are you remembering that He is with you, and that He holds you by the hand?  If you tend to forget that, (I do!) I encourage you to put notes around your house that remind you of God’s love for you, and the promises He makes to us, his children, to lead us if we acknowledge Him.

Mary Beth