BEAUTY BENEATH THE BUILDUP 

Yesterday, I spent a full day in the yard. Edging. Mowing. Pressure Washing. Mulching. I was sweaty, dirty, and stinky.

Even in the midst of that “status,” I had some powerful takeaways as I worked.

When you look at the pictures, you see a fence that is part renewed and part weathered. Then you see a picture of me with my hair, face, and legs coated in muck. All of that came from the fence. As I used the pressure washer to strip away and uncover, all that was on there had to go SOMEWHERE. It was ON me. I thought of 2 Corinthians 5:21 – Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin….TOOK IT ON HIM….that we might become the righteousness of God. I saw that yesterday. I’m so thankful for Him!

But part two is this: there was nothing wrong with the “left side” of that fence. It was just weathered – and it needed to be uncovered. As I went line by line until it was finished, I just saw things in our lives being stripped away that have hidden what He created us to be. Weathering doesn’t happen because we did something bad or ran away from Him – it just happens as we are exposed to the elements of life. We weather seasons that are hard – raising kids, navigating relational issues, financial hardships, work stress, health concerns and more. Most of the time, we may not even realize how much it has impacted us.

I saw a picture of me on that fence. As I pressure washed those boards, I could hear Holy Spirit speaking to me: “Jackie, it’s time for some things to be uncovered and brought back to life. You’ve weathered some hard days, months and years – and they’ve weathered you. But trust me as I strip that away and uncover who I’ve created you to be.”

While we don’t always appreciate the hard seasons while we are in them, they give us perspective to see them WHEN we get to the other side.

I’ve got joy again.
I have promptings to write again.
I’m taking care of my physical body again.

Praying that you, too, will experience an uncovering. Trust him with the weathering process…..and get ready to see beauty from ashes as He strips it away.

❤️