Our marriage is undergoing yet another test of its mettle: Marilyn and I are waist-deep into redecorating our kitchen and living room. There’s a difference, you know, between remodeling and redecorating. Remodeling is like an organ transplant, while redecorating is more like a simple make-over. Does stripping decades of old gingham wallpaper and painting over a very nice but outdated paneled wall qualify as simple?
Although we are merely “redecorating,” choosing the new colors has proven excruciating! We couldn’t even decide which colors we preferred individually, let alone come to a consensus as a couple! According to HGTV, our nation is on the cusp of new territory color-wise. “They” say the days of the deep, rich, earth tones like taupe and beige played against earthen reds and mossy greens have gone the way of padded shoulders and big hair. And boy—let me tell you what!—sponging, ragging and distressing are soooo twenty four months ago! Now the problem is, how do you redecorate safely? What colors are safe in this ever-changing fashion marathon?
We did eventually settle on a new, fresh look and released our friend and interior painter, Nancy Morrison, to do the dirty work. We’re very pleased with the results: you’ll have to come see for yourself. Besides, we don’t know what “they” call it anyway. But we like it… we think. Although the pressure has been considerable, our marriage has once again stood the test— you can color us Happy.
While shopping for accent pieces, I was caught off guard by a message on a decorative plaque that touched me deeply. Maybe it was the cumulative stress of redecorating, wrestling to make just the right decisions that would ensure a pleasant atmosphere in our home, or maybe it was the Holy Spirit who gently nudged me. The plaque read:
“A true friend is someone who walks
past your broken garden gate
without complaining,
only to compliment you
on the beautiful flowers
in your poorly kept garden.”
We all need those kinds of friends, don’t we? We fuss and work to improve our gardens…hoping to fashion something meaningful. The truth is, our garden blooms through the lives we lead. Who we are is so much more important than where we live or the fashions we pursue.
I’ve lived just long enough to have seen fashion change; now it happens so quickly hardly anyone can keep up. I’ve experienced mind-blowing cultural changes as well as radical changes in science and education, not to mention the current mind-blurring, digital revolution! And finding inner peace in the midst of change is not easy.
My dad often reminded me that “nothing worthwhile is easy.” But then I have a Savior who says, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I’m so grateful Jesus doesn’t care whether I’m fashionable. He walks past my broken gates and steps over my unfinished projects. Even while I’m fussing with unfinished details, He lifts my chin with his scarred hand and speaks peace to me. I love that about Jesus. He looks right at me and cares about me, not the things I do.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”
Romans 14:17
Concerning the Garden that is our life…I love this verse from The Message—
“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace,
so that your believing lives,
filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit,
will brim over with hope!”
Romans 15:13
I wish you peace.