All things new

Caleb was right. His new (to him) Catalina sailboat was a great bargain, even if the interior decor was retro plaid and the accent deck colors baby blue. But it was retro because it was truly retro. It was manufactured in the 1970's when tealy-blue was a hot color. (I should know. I lived that color back then.) But not so now.

The light-colored woodwork on the deck has already been restained and sealed in a dark cherry hue. The hull is slated to become black with accents of gold, the deck a light gray, remnants of the cabin's blue carpet will disappear, and the boat will take on a manly, sophisticated look. At least, that's the plan.

I happen to be part of the plan. The last time he was down at the boat, Caleb stuffed his car full of cushions in need of a make-over. He presented them to me, along with that shy grin of his, when he got home. They filled my sewing room to capacity and taunted me for a do-over. With a general idea of what Caleb wanted, my mission became finding an economical solution for this design dilemma. I lost count of the number of stores I visited in search of the perfect materials. After a failed attempt at using gold tablecloths for the accent color around the edges (it frayed so badly it thought the hairy BigFoot creature had visited Bedford with a bad case of alopecia), I settled on affordable king-size black sheets and found two bolts of clearanced upholstery fabric. Perfect.

The project is coming together. A couple of accent pillows and a coordinating curtain panel to give some privacy to the V-berth complete the picture. I enjoy making something look good, especially if its prior look was old and worn.

Old things becoming new. Don't you love the idea? Laws of thermodynamics tell us things naturally progress from order to disorder. (And if we look at a teenager's room a week after it has been scrubbed clean, we know this to be absolutely true.) But it's fun to ward off the chaos as long as possible.

Oddly, God, in his mercy, has a spectacular knack for everlasting do-overs. He takes what is inherently ugly, wraps us in a cover of love and grace, and presents us to the waiting world. Why? Why would he put so much time and energy into us? Perhaps it's because He takes no greater pleasure than for His work  to reflect back on the beauty of His own character. We likely drive God crazy when we let our nasty 'ol selves peek out from behind the beautiful tapestry that He's made.

When God draws us to Himself, saving us, He completely makes us over. We don't have to be retro, ugly and unacceptable in His sight anymore. We no longer have to be slaves to wrong-doing and evil. Rather, we become beautiful do-overs by the grace of God.

Will our frayed ends show from time to time? Sure. But God delights in snipping off those loose strands to tidy up the mess.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)