Battered & Broken, Yet So Beautiful

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"-2 Corinthians 5:17

 This old house in the pictures above sit in the pecan orchard I like to take my walks in. From Day One, I have seen her beauty shine. Beyond the broken places. Behind the weeds trying to choke her out, her beauty remains.

So many days as I walk, I am drawn to her. I feel pulled to come and have a seat. To rest. To Be Still and listen. This was one of those days.

So I carefully climbed up to sit on the uneven and tattered steps. I begin to ask Him, "what is it Lord? Do you have something I need to see or hear? Or am I just to be still for a moment?"

After a few minutes of trying to just BE STILL, my eyes were wandering all over. I was seeing all the broken and battered places this poor girl has sustained.

This house was once a big, strong & beautiful home. There once was love and laughter I am guessing. All was beautiful with no worries.

Then one day...abandoned! She was left to care for herself. The rains poured down on her, helpless. The years of storms and sun have taken it's toll on her. There were many years she was hidden from everyone.

​Did she enjoy the seclusion or was she desperate to be seen? She has been battered and beaten down by time in this life. She is no longer the strong beautiful structure she once was....because Life Happened and it left her bruised and broken. She has been robbed of her insides. She has been choked by the weeds of normal life.

But then one day, Someone began to make a path. Someone started cutting back the trees and then the vines that had her wrapped up. She was opened up to the world once again. As tattered and broken as she was, now she was there for all to see.  

The once beautiful home was uncovered. Every visible broken and battered piece of her could not be hidden any longer. People said she was not worth keeping and advising to just demolish what the hard life of abandonment & neglect had started.

What would I see? What would others see? Would we only see the battered and broken? The tattered and torn of what appeared on the outside, or would we look to see more? Would I care to know all of her? The inside as well as the outside?

I was curious and decided to carefully look to see what was inside. I wanted to know more of her.  I thought she was beautiful. What I found amazed me! I carefully dodged the unsteady boards and holes, I pulled on the old door that was stuck and made my way inside. 

What was once a picture of perfection, was now littered with trash, critters, old furniture, mattresses and whatever else you could imagine. But I chose to look past that and try to see her 'bones'. Her true self at the core.

It was evident she had not felt beautiful in quite a long time. If her walls could have talked to me that day, I am sure they would've said..."I'm past my good. My time has gone and I am worthless now. See, just look around. Too broken. Too battered. Beyond repair."

That is what I felt this old home saying to me, but I saw beyond all that. I saw what once was. I saw what could be. I saw and admired the unattainable 12"+ real wood molding that lined the top and bottom of the walls! I saw the 12-14' ceilings in the rooms. I looked under the peeling wallpaper to see ship lap that made the walls that are now imitated. Intricate molding around the doors, transom windows all around the front door. So beautiful in it's beginning and beauty still able to shine thru all the neglect even today.

​She wanted show me the deeply buried beauty within. For me to see beyond the tattered and trashed part, but to her core. 

I realized then, thru my cant-sit-still, wandering eyes, how much we all are like this old house.

See, we were built absolutely beautiful and exactly as the Master Carpenter wanted us to be in the beginning. Over the years, life brings the storms as well as the beautiful sunshine. Both can damage us if we try to take care of it all on our own. Then.  is when we feel our beauty begins to break. The strong parts begin to feel battered and bruised. We begin to believe we are beyond repair. No restoration could help us now.

BUT GOD CARED! He sent Jesus to seek out and rebuild from the foundation up!

JESUS doesn't care how broken, battered, torn or tattered we are. He still sees the beautiful masterpiece He created at the beginning!

Life brings all kinds of things to us to hurt or destroy us. It comes as neglect, abandonment of all kinds, betrayal, and bruises.

The enemy means to destroy us! Any way possible! If it takes abandonment to make you hate God, that's what he will use. If it is betrayal, hate, bitterness, selfishness....he will use any and all of it. The enemy ALWAYS makes us Broken and Battered! 

BUT when JESUS comes, He says..."Bring all the rotten and broken parts to me. All of it! There is no reason to try to hide it, I have already seen it and I still LOVE you! Bring it to Me so I can throw it all away.  I will mend those broken places and restore your beauty to bigger and better than before!" He makes us NEW!

Jesus says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17

So today, if You are feeling battered and broken, let JESUS, the Master Carpenter, come in and remodel you! Let him use the tattered as the gorgeous character that will draws others to you, just like the old doors in that house! Let him shine thru those crack of brokenness and restore you to a more beautiful 'home' that you ever were before. 

Let this post also remind us all of each person we encounter. There are broken & battered people with a door that doesn't want to open up. They will not always be glad to open that door. It takes time since the last times they opened only brought hurt and stealing. We must remember that LOVE OPENS THEIR DOOR! We cannot adequately share who Jesus is until we can show them Jesus's LOVE.

If we ask to see the beauty under the brokenness, JESUS will shine His light on it for us to find! We must take the time to look beyond the junk trying to hide her & remind her of her beauty in JESUS. This is love. Reminding her Jesus Love Her too!

JESUS remodels and restores to bring bigger, brighter, and more beautiful. Everytime!

If Jesus brought restoration to you, I'd love to hear it! Many others NEED to hear it too, so share your story today with big love.

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Finding Contentment hard these days? You are not alone! 
We are bombarded daily with what we should strive to have and do. All of these things distract us from the many blessings God has sent to us. 
Some seasons in life are just plain hard! We need daily reminders that as hard as life is, we are still blessed & have much to be grateful for.
Let this little 21 Day Devotional with Questions/Thoughts help you refocus to an attitude of GRATITUDE today! 

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