Jen’s Gem: God Loves You!

The other day, nearly my entire property was power washed, including my house, walkways, sheds, and two decks. After years of neglect, they were all looking a bit worn out. The light yellow siding on my house was covered with dirt and my decks were gray. 
Needless to say, as the truck pulled up I became excited. I knew that within a few hours, everything would look brand new again. My deck was transformed.  The siding on my house was lighter and brighter and my sidewalks were devoid of the embedded dirt and grime.
 
I couldn’t believe the difference! I’d gotten so used to my property’s darkened and dirty state that I had forgotten how beautiful everything could be. Visions of a summer party danced in my head as I walked around and inspected the work.
 
Sadly, within only a few minutes, I noticed that a fair amount of damage had been done to the deck due to the pressure not being adjusted properly. Wood on the railings and spindles had been splintered, a nearly full-grown hydrangea bush had been ruined, along with sand and dirt being embedded in my driveway.
 
My joy quickly turned to irritation and anger.

 
The next day I contacted the company and sent pictures of the areas of concern. To my utter delight, they said they would address everything and went above and beyond to ensure that I’d be happy. I realize this should’ve been expected but in today’s world, stellar customer service is rare.
 
Over the past several years, I’ve gone through a bit of power washing, ridding my life of the dirt and debris that has piled up. The most significant area is my walk with God. Getting to know Him and experiencing a personal relationship with Jesus, has transformed my life, much like my property.
 
The previous falsehoods that I believed have been stripped away as I learned the truth about God. Years later, I continue to be just as eager to know more. This journey has brought me through some tough times and I have overcome deep-rooted mindsets that were preventing me from living the life God intended for me. If I’d only known this in my twenties or thirties – I imagine my life would be quite different now.
 
However, God can re-arrange time to make up for what was lost. I’ve personally experienced this many times and I have no doubt that if needed, He will do it again for me. He has also diminished the hurt and pain of the past making it easier for me to forgive and move forward. On a daily basis, I see His hand in my life and the lives of my children as we continue to trust and have faith in His promises.
 
We live in a world that is in need of some serious power washing to remove the embedded hurts, pain, loss, and hate that has filled our hearts and spirits. Many are looking to blame God for the state of our union, noting that He has abandoned us, He doesn’t care, or He’s just really angry.

I see it another way.
 

I think it is God who is hurting. I think it is He who feels abandoned and that His children don’t care about Him. I think He scratches His head and wonders why we would cast Him aside when He has such blessings for us. I think each time He witnesses the destructive way in which we treat each other and ourselves, it breaks His heart.
 
He’s like a parent seeing His family in disarray, where siblings don’t get along, or worse, have had their relationships broken due to miscommunication or hurtful words. As a parent, you’d want to do all you could to repair the brokenness and restore the family unit. I suspect God is trying to do that in many people’s lives so that He can bless them.
 
I’ve witnessed this in my walk with God. At times, He has had to bring up the dirt of my past so that I could address it. Until I did that, I could not move forward. Perhaps He’s trying to do that for you as well.
 
I’d like to encourage you this week to ask God to show you the areas in your life that may need a power wash. Write them down. Pray for a solution. Ask God to help you. Unlike the technician who cleaned my house, He knows just the right pressure to use to avoid permanent damage.