Work in Progress

We are all familiar with the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day!"  You know that is true, it was not.  That would have been quite a story, but it took years to make Rome into the glorious city that it was.  It was a work in progress.

Have you ever tried to train an animal?  I have tried to teach my three dogs various commands and/or tricks and what I have found is that they are works in progress.  Sam and Maggie are my older dogs and both are extremely intelligent, but Maggie is much more hyperactive than Sam, so she has been harder to train.  (To say she is hyperactive is a little misleading....imagine the Energizer Bunny on steroids with a little bit of 'speed' mixed in.)  That's Maggie!  They are both works in progress, and it has taken time for them to learn things.

Building takes time.  Training takes time.  Change can take time as well.  Today I was reminded about how God has changed me and continues to change me.  Heading home for lunch today I was listening to who else but Steven Curtis Chapman, and specifically his album, "All I Really Want for Christmas."  This is an album I have listened to many times over and know the words to every song, yet I was blown away today as I listened carefully to the words of the Title Track.  This particular song tells the story of an orphan whose only wish for Christmas is to have a family.  As I listened carefully to the words I found myself on the verge of crying my eyes out.  I have heard this a hundred times....why the tears?  COME ON!!  WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME STEVEN?

As I continued to listen I was reminded of how far God has brought me, and how much He has changed my heart.  Years ago, I did not want children.  Now here I am anxiously awaiting the day I get to hold my adopted daughter in my arms.  Now here I am crying like a little girl who just met Justin Beiber.  God has changed and continues to change who I am in Him.  I am and will always be a work in progress.

 

1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  Purification is a process.  Sometimes purification comes in the blink of an eye, but sometimes it can take years.  Through the process we must continue to confess our sins to God.  Also, I think we must continue to confess our worries, our anxieties, our desires, etc.  That is not what this passage is about but 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us to "cast all our anxieties on Him who cares for you."  The more of our sins, problems, desires, heart, and LIVES that we lay at the feet of Jesus the more He can and will change us. What can you and I lay at His feet right now? 

All of us are works in progress.  God wants to take us and mold us into the person He wants us to be.  We are better off if we allow Him to do his work.  Sometimes the change is painful, but remember that after the pain comes relief.   Sometimes the change  takes time, but remember that with time comes wisdom.  Sometimes you get scars, but remember that a scar is evidence of healing.  Sometimes it may feel like no one is there, but remember God NEVER leaves.  He is the potter, we are the clay:  allow him to work in your life.