home is where the heart is
written by shannon maupin
re:finished
We moved into our house almost seven years ago. It was not love at first sight, but my dear friend and realtor, Michelle, saw what it could be. She told me it had the potential to be exactly what we wanted; it just needed some work.
The house did need work, and I needed help. I had no idea where to start. I didn’t have a vision, so I called another dear friend, Blynda Purdy, the founder of Re:gather Design Collective, and said, “Can you help me?” She walked in and saw a blank canvas, and, like an artist, she put all my pieces together to create something new and beautiful.
She told me then, “when you’re ready, we’ll add a few more layers and finish it up.” This year, for my birthday, I told my husband, Rob, I would really like to have Blynda and her daughter, Jess, re:fresh and re:finish our house.
They pulled into our driveway, cars filled to the brim, ready to re:finish our house. I had to leave to work, so I just left them to re:create something new. I could hardly wait to go home that night. I literally felt like a little child on Christmas morning waiting to see what Santa had brought!
I walked through the door to new house! Blynda and Jess had been able to see a new vision for my pieces, and they re:arranged and re:gathered them with new elements in a fresh way!! As you can see in the gorgeous pictures Kate Parrish captured, Blynda and Jess added some layers to create an updated and cozy space. We didn’t have to buy new furniture or paint or do anything difficult or super expensive. They just worked in some new elements, and made our house look finished.
Blynda, Jess and Kate are truly artists. They take a blank canvas of a house (or a canvas that’s a little banged up and needs some help), and they create a truly beautiful work of art. The whole process reminds me of how Jesus works in my life. I am a like a canvas. I have some pretty major flaws, but Jesus keeps working on me and molding me into who He wants me to be. He never gives up on me or gets tired of me. He continues to speak to me through his Word, and He shows me new things I can work on or reminds me of things I need to remember. He is not finished with me. He continues adding things I can work on like humility, and patience, and boldness etc.
The Bible says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” This reminds me that God is continually doing something new in me, in you and in the world.
I love Lamentations 3:23-26, which says,
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
No matter what is going on in our lives or in the world, God is still working. He is moving. He is making all things new. Sometimes we just have to stop and look and see what He is doing and remember that He is our hope. He is not finished with us. He will keep renewing us, day by day.
