Made New (Part 1)

“I have a gift for you. I know – it’s not what you were expecting. But it’s what you need. And with just the right touches, it will become the very thing you want.” –God

There is a beauty to be found in things that don’t appear so beautiful. When I first received a text message showing me the picture of a dresser a church member had offered me for free, I thought that perhaps these statements could be true about it. I had decided upon a bumblebee room theme, and I wanted a black dresser. The one in the picture wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, but I ended up gaining more than I could have ever hoped for.

Part of my becoming journey has been rediscovering Whitney Nicole. Who is she? What does she like? What lights a fire in her? Something leaped in me the day I arrived at a particular property and saw all that could offer joy and bring creativity out of me. Other people may have only seen messes, but I saw masterpieces waiting for their reveal, and the owner seemed to share my vision. I wanted to build, create, and recolor the many projects before my eyes. And since I didn’t get a chance to help start and finish a number of them, it seemed now the Lord was recovering my opportunity in this season – to start and finish.

God and His divine placements had just brought me from the home of a builder, so I decided to ask him how I should go about my new project. And I was none too pleased with his response. I just wanted to paint over the chipped and scratched glossy brown cover. Instead, He told me that I needed to sand it and then repaint it. What seemed like a quick makeover was now turning into more than I had bargained for in this “free" gift.

Several Home Depot and Lowes trips later, I had gathered my supplies along with a sander my mother graciously offered to help my efforts. And for the first time, I was getting excited about all this new work before me. One of the things my builder-lodger had informed me to do was strip the paint and wood in layers. He said that I would need a rougher grain, and then I could eventually go to a finer one. To me, this just meant more time, money, and effort. It wasn’t until I started to do the work that I saw how necessary his instructions had been.

A couple of weeks later, I set up my little workshop on the porch and was ready to begin. I couldn't imagine the enjoyment I’d get out of using that sander. Shavings were flying everywhere, but I didn’t care because I was experiencing delight in my soul. And as the layers came off, original beauty was being revealed.

A sister once shared, “I love that you see God everywhere because you look for Him everywhere.” Here was me looking again, and God didn’t spare Himself another opportunity to speak. In a moment, I realized that the dresser was me. The adhesiveness of the stickers had been ill labels I received from others and allowed to remain. The deep crevices and chipped wood were the hardness and brokenness of my heart due to people and things I once called love. And the layers were the years and years of my lost identity that had been exchanged for fear, defeat, and warm bodies that left me cold at night.

When my sister came outside, she began to see the spiritual insights too. She got excited as I finished one drawer and set it back in the assembly with the others. We began a riveting discussion about how God makes us over when we become new in Christ or continue in His sanctifying work to make us look more like Him.

The first thing I did was prepare a place for the stripping to begin. I couldn’t work on the dresser or each drawer with the others in the way. I needed to get each piece alone. And isn’t this what our Potter does to us? He first separates us. He brings us out from among the people and places where we found an identity He never designed for us to wear so that He can carefully remove it. And once He’s worked on us enough so that there's evidence of change, He allows us to go back.

We and everyone else around us notice that we don’t quite fit and belong anymore. There is something different about us. Or perhaps we return to a crowd that is pleasantly surprised that we’re not wearing the same attitude and glasses we had when we left. I needed a long, alone season with God because I was messy inside and out. Whether anyone could see it or not, I was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually disfigured. And each appointed workbench was for my rehab and renovation.

Now back to what thrilled my sister so. When God first begins His renewal process in and through us, we often are still enveloped in the environment from which He plucked us out. Over time, He begins to align us with people who are on the same transformation journey as us. One by one, day by day, God does replacement therapy until we finally look up and everything is changed.

Be sure to follow Unveiled61 on social media and then check back for my next blog where I’ll reveal how my dresser and I have been made new.