The Great Heavenly Makeover

Well now, Butterbean, come on up here on this here ol’ front porch and be ‘a-mindin’ that there loose board. It has been ‘a-threatenin’ to buck folks off like a cranky ol’ mule since ‘a-fore the new century. Pull you up a purty good chair, git settled in, and let’s sit for a lil’ spell. I was just ‘a-watchin’ an armadillo ‘a-tryin’ to roll a garden tomato across the yard, bless its stubborn little heart. It kept ‘a-slippin’ and ‘a- like a raccoon caught in a baptistry, and I thought, “Well ain’t that just like us humans, ‘a-tryin’ to fix our lives when God is standin’ right there ‘a-offerin’ somethin’ better.”

Life can leave you feelin’ like a singed marshmallow at a youth camp bonfire. So, sip on  sweet tea, swat them there skeeters, and be ‘a-rememberin’ this truth that is sweeter than peach cobbler. Our God is in the business of ‘a-turnin’ ashes into beauty, and He ain’t run out of miracles yet.

I have seen folks who used to be meaner than a rooster with a toothache, now ‘a-sittin’ in church ‘a-smilin’ like a possum in a pumpkin patch. Jesus can take a tangled mess and be ‘a-turnin’ it into somethin’ prettier than a sunrise over a hayfield.

Isaiah 61:4 says, “God will rebuild ruins and revive what has been deserted.” If your life looks like a barn that fell over in a windstorm, God can still be raisin’ it back up. He is mighty good at ‘a-makin’ holy things out of hopeless places.

Take that fella in Luke 8. Bless his heart, he was ‘a-runnin’ around naked as a jaybird and crazier than a raccoon in a feed barrel. One encounter with Jesus, and he was ‘a-sittin’ there fully clothed and perfectly sane. That there is a real makeover.

Or in Acts when ol’ Saul was ‘a-stompin’ around like an angry bull and ‘a-chasin’ Christians like they owed him money, Jesus doneknocked him off his high horse and turned him into Paul. This here was sho’-nuff’ a plot twist.

So, if you are ‘a-sittin’ there ‘a-thinkin’ your life is too far gone, let me be remindin’ you that God can be ‘a-takin’ your broken pieces, your burnt up past, your squirrel chasin’ mistakes, and be ‘a-makin’ somethin’ real beautiful. He’s already done it before, and He’ll sho’-nuff’ do it again.

Lord, take them there ashes of my life and be makin’ somethin’ real beautiful. Be ‘a-mendin’ what is broken and ‘a-straightenin’ what is twisted. Thank You for lovin’ me enough to be ‘a-transformin’ me. In Jesus’ holy name, I pray.  Amen.

Well Butterbean, that there is enough o’ that there truth to fill up your work boots real good. Now go on out there and be ‘a-lettin’ God turn your ashes into beauty, just like a hen ‘a-turnin’ potato peelin’s and other scraps into eggs. Our good God is mighty, mighty  good at what He does.

With joy,

Gwen