Hidden Beauty

Many years ago my husband and I acquired an old beat up dresser. It was an ugly shade of pale lime green that made you wonder what the previous owners had been thinking. We decided we wanted to refinish it. So began a painstaking time consuming project. At times we were even afraid that we might be ruining it.

Everyday we would lug this heavy piece of furniture outside and slave away at our hidden treasure. When we had that day's work completed we would yank and tug it back indoors. It required slathering on the paint stripper and scraping off layer after layer of paint. Lime green was only the tip of the iceberg. There were many other layers of colors underneath. Dark green, pink, white, you name it. Paint is meant to beautify and protect but when it is thoughtlessly applied it leaves behind a mess. This made what seemed to be a small job become much more involved. There were also lots of little edges and curves that needed every speck of paint removed. It was hard but necessary because we wanted to stain it and make it look like a new piece. What was left behind when we finished was dull, faded wood. Tired somehow. There were some scars and imperfections that no amount of sanding would remove.

Then we applied the stain and the clear polyurethane over that. A beautiful piece of furniture emerged. The wood that had looked so worn became a rich warm oak. The scars and little imperfections darkened to bring character and interest. It's shiny finish revealed our image in it.

Life is not unlike that old dresser.

God has to do some pulling and tugging on us to get us to a place He can work on us. Sometimes the process God uses to strip away the ugly layers hurts. The disappointments, discouraging times, trials....it somehow all works together for good. It can be hard to understand how anything beautiful could come from something so painful. At other times it may feel as though the stripping away has ruined your life. What is left behind might appear to be faded, dull, and just plain tired. Have you ever been through trying times that left you feeling this way?

People you thought you could trust and depend on, pulled back and let you down.

There was no one to share your burden with.

You felt worn down, overwhelmed and misunderstood.

Perhaps it has always been up to you to be the strong one.

Maybe you have always been expected to be the encourager.

Or maybe you are expected to have the perfect life so when you try to share the imperfections, others think you have nothing to complain about.

They may listen for a moment and walk away, uninterested in helping or even just listening.

You learned to hold it in most of the time, except for when it bubbled over. Even then, no one seemed to see the heavy load you bore, interpreting it instead as anger. (If you are a woman, they may have even labeled it hormones and brushed you off. ;)

Trial after trial washed over you until you felt hopeless to find a way out.

You were left feeling alone. Everything stripped away. Vulnerable. Just you and the Lord because no one else cared enough to get close, to be there for the positive and the negative that life brings.

But as painful as those times might be, something beautiful emerges from it. Layers of self reliance are stripped away. Years of seeing yourself through other's eyes, gone. Though feeling no one really cares hurts, it can cause you to cease caring so much about other's opinions. You learn to draw close to your Savior because He is all you have. Broken, bare and scarred you lay before Him with nothing to offer.

It is only then that the Master can truly begin to craft you into something new. Instead of pouring your heart out to friends or family you learn the power of prayer and the release of laying everything at His feet. When the storms of tears end you feel the peace only He can give. No amount of phone calls or conversation can equal that. Instead of carrying ugly scars you carry experiences that give you character and compassion. The sloppily applied paint becomes a deep, rich finish that reflects His image.

Perhaps you are in a season of refinishing. If so, I don't imagine you have looked at it that way. I know how hard it can be when you feel as though it is a windy day and you are in the water's edge at the ocean. The waves come faster and harder until it can be hard to stand and you eventually are knocked to your knees, with your eyes stinging in the saltwater, sputtering and coughing as you try to catch your breath between the rush of waves.

But God is at work! You don't have to feel it for it to be truth. I'll say that again. You don't have to feel it for it to be truth. Know that God loves you and even though the enemy may mean these times for harm, God is working it out for good in your life. He is steadily working and making you into a gorgeous, new treasure. He sees through all the old ugly layers you applied and knows something wonderful can come of it. Now you just need to catch that vision for your life and once again be filled with....hope.