Chad Chapman gave us his thoughts during our communion meditation time. I enjoyed what he had to say and asked him if he would share them with Karen's Korner readers:


"Some of you might know this and some might not, Raejean and I bought my parent’s house and have started the remodeling process.  Yes, I’m excited about the end result, but the journey so far has not always been pleasant. I am guessing many, if not all, of you have remodeled something at one time or another.  As I walk through this process, God is showing me similarities between house remodeling and spiritual growth. Here are a few thoughts from these past weeks.

1. You may want to quit before you get to the finished product.

There have been times during these past four-ish weeks when I have wanted to say, “Enough. Let’s just stop here. I can’t take anymore!”

There are times in the Christian life when I am tempted to quit the journey God has me on because it’s too challenging. I begin to question if it’s worth it, and I convince myself that I don’t need to go any further. But if I quit, I miss all that God has in store for me.

2. It’s inconvenient and uncomfortable at times, but the end result is worth it.

Luckily for us we are not living in the mess, we are still in our house for now.  But every time I need a different tool, I must go back to my current home and get it.  Then something comes up there and I need that same tool back at my current home.

Spiritual growth, like remodeling, stretches me and takes me out of my comfort zone. It can be uncomfortable at times, but the process is necessary to experience something far better in the end.

3. It’s not going as quickly as I’d like.

Inevitably in remodeling, the process doesn’t tend to go as scheduled. There’s always a glitch, a delay, something unexpected that comes up, slowing things down. Why can’t it go faster?

In the same way, I want spiritual maturity…today! But spiritual growth doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, and there are delays—delays caused by circumstances out of my control or by my actions. I have to learn patience – with home remodeling and spiritual growth.

4. It gets messy.

In the midst of remodeling, I see debris all over the place that wasn’t there before, or I hadn’t seen before. I can either ignore it and let it build up until I can’t stand it anymore, or I can sweep up the dust daily to keep it from getting out of control.

It’s the same way in my spiritual life. As I grow more like Christ, He will show me “dust” in my life—not to discourage me, but to prompt me to deal with it and confess it. I have to make a choice: clean it up as God shows me sin, or ignore it and let it get out of control.

5. It’s never finished.

When I remodel, it never seems to be finished. There’s always something else that can be done beyond the original goal. So I just keep remodeling…

In the Christian life, we never arrive at spiritual maturity and achieve Christ-likeness while we’re on this earth. There’s always more to be done. Only when we see Him face to face will the spiritual renovation in our lives be done.
 
" Heavenly Father, thank You for being the ultimate builder or even rebuilder in our lives. Thank You for the guidance to constantly keep me growing and moving forward. In Jesus name I pray, Amen."