My front porch is a mess.  There is dirty, moldy insulation covering everything.  It’s wet, matted and ground down into the floor.  It’s wedged into the cracks between the floorboards and mounded in the corners.  My porch swing sits, rather dejectedly, on the floor; the hooks that it hung from are missing from the ceiling.  Yesterday’s sunshine has given in to cold, dark unceasing rain with the promise to freeze before the day is over.  The carpenters stayed home and all work on my house has ground to a halt. 

I went out to look at the progress of the house repairs and restoration this morning and was instead met by all that.  My first reaction was to grab a broom and try to sweep all the insulation, both wet and dry, off my porch furniture and floor.  Did I mention that is GROUND IN?  This action proved ineffective and fruitless.  In frustration, I put my broom down, looked at the devastation and rain, and cried. 

Thoughts of my beautiful porch the way it was, with swing intact and flowers blooming everywhere, made me cry harder.  I picked the broom up and tried again, to no avail.  I gathered my filthy pillows and stuffed them into the washer, still sobbing.  Then came the whisper, “How do you think I feel when I see one of my beautiful children broken and filthy? However, I can see my child in their perfect state, so I know what’s coming. Restoration and healing are not always quick and painless processes. Quit looking at the mess.” 

My house needs a lot healing and restoration.  We are replacing the trim everywhere, changing it from a buttery-cream color to white. When the siding that covers the porch ceiling was being replaced, the workers found wet, moldy insulation behind it.  As they pulled down the siding, the nasty insulation rained down and covered everything.  Beneath that, was rotten wood.  Entire beams had to be replaced on the porch roof.  All of this was due to the siding being installed incorrectly and water becoming trapped behind it. 

The back patio cover is full of water-rot and has to be torn down and rebuilt.  Then, the big blow.  The roof that we thought was okay for a few more years has to be replaced.  All from that same insidious water damage. 

The finished product and the need for the repairs and upgrades was not what I was seeing when I went out on the porch this morning.  All I saw was the mess and what my porch used to look like.  I wasn’t seeing a Promised Land; I was seeing the endless wilderness and dreaming of Egypt.  I wasn’t seeing a healed, renewed heart, but only the open, gaping wounds where the infection was being drained. 

I’m not one of those people who can visualize a finished house from just a frame or see a whole new floorplan in an existing layout.  I need a picture or a visual reference.  If I don’t have those, then I have to trust the professionals.  The contractor who is taking care of this restoration has a great track record with us.  He renovated my upper room over the garage and did a beautiful job.  He’s very respected in our area and has a great reputation.  He knows the plans he has for the trim, roof, and back porch.  He knows what we requested and what is needed.  I’m trusting him to make sure the finished product is beautiful and clean up when he’s done.

God knows the finished product and the plans.  He knows what we should look like and only sees us in that perfected state when He forgives us.  He looks past the mess and focuses on the healing and restoration.  When we can’t visualize the finish product, He asks us to trust Him.  He even explains the plans:

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

I will trust Him.  I found this verse today and I think it is the perfect response:

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will praise and give thanks to Your name;
For You have done miraculous things,
Plans formed long, long ago, [fulfilled] with perfect faithfulness.

I invite you to read the rest of Isaiah 25.  It speaks of God tearing down what the enemy has built and reducing it to trash. He prepares something more enduring, protecting, beautiful and welcoming in its place.  There’s mess and there’s restoration.  

Quit looking at the mess.