Total Restructuring

One of the gifts I received from my sister and brother-in-law was a Christmas tree ornament made from an old quilt. I didn't see the original scrap of cloth but I did see the end result.  It was a cute Santa Claus to hang on the tree for years to come.  While the ornament was cloth I wouldn't have necessarily guessed it had once been a quilt.  The piece of fabric had been totally restructured as something else.  Something, in this case, had sentimental meaning and value attached to it--something to cherish for years to come.

There is a similar concept in biblical counseling. It is termed "total restructuring."  Sometimes a person's life has been lived so far from God that it takes great effort to remake it into the new creature God intends for us to become.  Although I've been a believer for 33 years the Lord has been faithful to show me that much of my life needs to be redone. He loves me enough that He would no longer allow me to live in my pride, sin and bondage.  It's not been an easy year.  In fact, I daresay it's been one of the hardest of my life. Not THE hardest for that distinction belongs to the year 1978-1979.  My hope is in the promises of God that He will take an old scrap of fabric and fashion it into an ornament that can be used to bring Him much glory when He is finished.  We never are through with sanctification until we see Him face to face.  But I do think He moves us away from the blue tip flame of the refiner's fire when the sheen that He wants is complete. Hopefully for me that will happen in 2013.  I wish all who read my blog a blessed 2013 and a year of trusting Him even greater than you do at present.