Would you look at that! Shingles that are not warped, falling into my gutters, or missing! We got a new roof put on this week and my silly adult self couldn't be happier! When I asked my daughter Jaylyn if she is happy that we have a new roof, she replied with, "I don't really care!" My 10-year-old self would have said, "High-five sister!" But as a 34 year old adult, I couldn't be more proud to pull into my driveway and look up. (On a side note, looking down right now is not the best view as weeds are overtaking my yard!)
This new roof has me really thinking about my relationship with God and this new challenge I have. The layers and layers of mucky and icky shingles that had to come off before putting on the new roof were such a symbol of my life. Mucky and icky stuff covered up by new and then becoming mucky and icky, only to be covered up again and then turn mucky and icky again and again and again. I thought I had life all figured out. Cover it up, hide it, and nobody would know. Start fresh, but keep that stuff hidden deep down! Ugly stuff that no one would want to take off and put on their house! Who wants used and old shingles to be installed on themselves? Who would want to be like me?
Then 2 years and 9 months ago, I tore it all off! I exposed all the ugliness and by golly did it hurt! It ripped, tore, and was very difficult to do. But.... sweet freedom! Wednesday as I was watching the guys dig and tear off the old shingles, I imagined my house taking a huge sigh of relief! My poor house was trying to hold up all of that stuff and it was getting very heavy. So heavy in fact that pieces of our ceiling in our breezeway didn't want to hold it anymore! That is how I felt. What a sigh of relief! I was falling apart and having to bear the weight of it all and I finally let it go. I gave it all to God! Almost everyone knows it, but it is worthy to share. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:17 is JUST as amazing but one that isn't remembered as much, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
I am not perfect, but I am new and changed! I don't have that old stuff weighing me down anymore! I have Jesus to turn to and save me from my sins! Before this journey continues for you, have you ever thought about how amazing your life might be if you could rip away the old and become new again! Eternal life with God our Father is a gift that only takes trust and belief in Jesus Christ. Believing in his death for our sins and trusting in Him to forgive our sins and work in us is ALL God wants from us! If you want eternal life and you want to trust God, find a church or a pastor or even a friend who has trusted and talk to them. Comment to me or even send me an email! I would love to talk with you more about how you too can be new and clean!
So, now that I have God, I want to shout it from the rooftops! Jesus has saved me, made me new, and He wants to do the same with everyone! He wants to bear our burdens! In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, "'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will bring you rest.'" He gives us the relief we are looking for. God does not cover up the old and hide it for us, he wants us to be completely open and honest with who we are and where we have been. Only then can He bring me rest and help create a new me!
Let's shout it from the rooftops!
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the death, burial, and resurrection of your one and only Son so that my ugliness, sin, and mucky and icky past self can be cleansed and I can be at rest. You are so good through all of my mess and never forsake me. For that I am truly thankful. Bless me today as I strive to chase after You and continue to use me to shout your name from the rooftops!
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
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