Strippers

Sorry to disappoint some of my readers, but this blog isn't what it may seem.

Last week we hired a man to strip our deck of it's old, faded stain and condition it for a new stain color before we host our daughter's birthday party.

For three hours this poor man slaved over our deck section by section. Using both a powerful chemical and a strong power washer a fine layer of wood was slowly and carefully stripped off the deck.

Watching him work from my kitchen window I appreciated his patience for such monotonous and tedious work. The powerful spray of water and chemical splashed up and over all our of our surrounding landscape leaving a brownish residue.

The experience made me think of our spiritual transformation from sinner into saint. At times we are blasted hard with the force of God working in and through our lives to clean us up. The process can hurt a bit.

Other times additional toxic situations peel away our illusions of self, control, and strength leaving us raw and vulnerable to the elements until we are re-marked or stained with the character traits of godly living. Thus, soul transformation mimics my deck's outer transformation.

Wouldn't it be neat and tidy to have 'before and after' of ourselves as God works through us and within us like the stripper took digital photos of my deck? But then again, sometimes the work God does lies hidden and dormant until a situation challenges us to reveal just how God has been moving within us.

Thanks be to God there is more than one way to witness how we've grown!