You are restoring me piece by piece

In this place, I will hold on patiently and hopefully,
until I see what He sees,
Wholeness and Beauty,
Even in this season, I can hope, and smile,
And my heart will keep singing,
You are restoring me, piece by piece.

Ever watched those makeover shows on TV where the real estate guys buy a property that is seemingly run down then they work on it and restore it piece by piece it into something absolutely beautiful?

Or maybe you are not into TV but you may have watched a home makeover on your favorite YouTuber’s channel. By the way, I have noticed remodeling projects have become really popular on YouTube lately, I don’t know why. But I digress. Whether it is a major renovation project or a small do-it-yourself project focused on just one area of the house, they all have one thing in common.

It always gets worse before it gets better.

A lot of dismantling is involved before the desired designs are finally brought to life. Let’s say your kitchen is tiny and you want to expand it, you might have to knock off some walls. If you need to switch up things a bit on your floor, you have to take out the existing one and then do it all over again in the way you want. It’s like everything is ‘destroyed’ and then restored again piece by piece until the end product looks better than the starting point.

During such a project, if someone came in at the early stages when all the old stuff is being dismantled they may feel like you are causing destruction. It’s a mess. In fact, it might seem like you are doing more harm than good. But that is only because they have no idea what the end project you are working towards will look like. They do not have the same vision that you have and therefore they cannot visualize the beautiful outcome that you are working towards.

The few times I have watched remodeling projects on TV, I am always wowed by the transformation by the end of the project. Something so dirty and unattractive can quickly turn into the most beautiful piece of property you have ever seen. It is amazing!

Now, hold on, I’m not exactly a fan of home makeovers so that’s not what all this is about. I am trying to draw a parallel between these projects and the messy seasons of life.

Messy seasons of life are like remodels

I’ve come to believe that getting through the difficult seasons of life is a lot like a remodeling project. In that season when it feels like everything is being thrown at you and it is all messy, that to me is like being right in the middle of a remodel. You know, that time when the area is covered all round so that no one can see what is going on inside except for “construction in progress” signs.

In my experience, in the rough seasons, it feels like I am being broken down. I feel like I am in deep darkness and I can’t find the light. And then after some time, just when I feel like I am at the end of my wits, things start changing and it feels like some light is coming again. The truth is though, these experiences do not leave you unchanged. You come out of it a different person, and most of the time you grow.

Through these experiences, you learn the lessons that help you to become the person you need to be for your next level.

You see just like in the case of remodeling a house, sometimes without destroying the old, there is no room for the new. The same case applies to our lives, sometimes we have to be broken in order to be made whole. It is in our brokenness that we become open to being molded into what we need to become.

After going through a traumatic experience, the recovery is usually not quick. Sometimes you stay in the state of brokenness for a long time. But recovery happens slowly. For me, I feel like being restored, piece by piece until I eventually feel completely alive again.

There are lessons in your life that you would never have learned except through a possibly traumatic experience. There is a level of empathy that you cannot achieve until you have needed it yourself. You cannot truly understand the hopelessness that comes with grief until you have been through grief yourself.

Our seasons of darkness are for a purpose

What I am saying is that all our difficult seasons are not meaningless. Even when you are feeling stuck in the same place for a long period of time, do not think for a moment that it is useless. You are growing through all your experiences, both the good, the bad and the extremely ugly ones.

In that season of your life, think about yourself as a house that is being remodeled. And that your life will eventually be restored into something better than it was before.

Keep your hope alive

The truth is, through those difficult circumstances, you are being restored. Being built into the person that you need to be to face what is ahead of you. It may not look like it right now, but restoration is happening, and sooner than later you will feel it.

Keep your hope alive. Find little things to be grateful for each day to help you stay positive through the storm. Simple things like a roof over your head, the ability to binge-watch your favorite shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime can brighten your day. If there is a meal on your table every single day or you have a spouse who goofs around and makes you laugh, that’s something to smile about.

Just be grateful and focus on the bigger picture, that at the end of the day, God has a much larger vision of your life and He is building something beautiful.