restoration

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At the lake that I love so much there is a particularly beautiful spot I always visit in the Spring.

It is called the Punch bowl and it sits within a section of the lake called the Valley Gardens. Imagine a bright green, grassy floor surrounded on three sides by gentle hills that are overflowing with vivid azaleas and rhododendrons in all shades of pink and purple, red and orange and white. The colours are so bright they almost look artificial against the grass and the blue sky. The blossoms peak around early May, depending on the weather, and for as long as I can remember it has signalled to me the beginning of the British summer.

Two years ago some very worrying signs appeared, warning us that a renovation plan was about to start on the Punch Bowl that would take at least 5 years. And sure enough, as soon as the flowers had finished blooming, the area was cordoned off and work began.

I had all but forgotten about the signs when my husband and I happened to walk past the area last spring. The cordon was still in place but we peeked down into the valley and were shocked at what we saw. Large trees that were damaged had been completely removed and the azaleas and rhododendrons were drastically, even brutally cut back. The Valley was bare, colourless, lifeless. I wanted to cry.

I googled the Garden’s website where I read reassurances that there was a careful plan and that the area would return to its former glory. But, I struggled to believe it could ever really recover.

Then, last night my husband suggested we walk around the lake. It was late afternoon and the park was emptying out of visitors as the weather turned cloudy and cool. We found ourselves at the far end of the lake near the Punch bowl so we had another peek.

Mr Head Garderner, I am sorry I ever doubted you!

Even just two years into the renovation plan, my little spot of heaven is already fighting back. The bushes that had been so harshly pruned are small but the colours are as bright as ever, even on a dull day. They are already benefitting from the improved drainage and space and they are flourishing.

‘Wow,’ I said to my husband, ‘these gardeners really know what they are doing!’

And immediately a still small voice pricked my heart.

Because I have been experiencing some pruning of my own. It is painful and ugly. It has left bare patches in my life and in my soul. The process has felt rather brutal at times.

But I see now that it is not.

It is the work of the Divine Gardener, the Good Shepherd of my soul who loves me more than I know.

His pruning is perfect. He is never, ever trigger-happy with garden tools. He doesn’t want to damage, He wants to heal. His aim is restoration, not ruin.

But, He is a Gardener. And, gardeners think in the long term. They think in seasons, even years, planning and planting, seeding and weeding. It is laborious and time-consuming. Because beautiful projects always are.

So, I have a choice today. I can question God’s workings in my life or I can trust the gardener’s plan. It is okay to cry and grieve over what has been pruned but then it is time to peek over the fence with faith-filled eyes and expect to see the returning blossoms of His goodness where He has carefully tended my life.

Because I am always in good hands. My God is gentle and careful and He is kind.

And, He loves me enough to renovate and restore until every corner of my life is beautiful.

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Oh, the pain of finding the perfect quote when it is too late!

My husband sent me this quote after my last blog post.

‘We need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.’ CS Lewis

As usual, CS Lewis says it better than I ever could.

This is the tension of the normal Christian life. It is a life of perfecting, but not perfectionism; resting, but never passive; grateful, but still hungry.

You see when the New Testament uses the word ‘perfect’ it comes from a Greek word, ‘teleios’, that means mature, complete, whole or mature.

There is a work that Jesus has started in my life. His desire is to finish it and my job is to let Him.

This is so important to understand. We cannot afford to get this twisted.

The normal Christain life is a life where I am to let go of trying to be good enough but to instead put all my effort into being available, open, and teachable to God’s perfecting work in me.

Legalism has no place in this kind of Christianity, but neither does lackadaisical Jesus-following. The only appropriate response to God’s graceful gift is to be willing clay in the Potter’s hands. The cross of Christ means I can make peace with my past mistakes and failures, but I must never make peace with an incomplete work of sanctification and restoration in my life.

This is the full gospel.

I love the verses in Luke where Jesus announces why He has come.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, freedom for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.” (Luke 4.18, the Passion Translation)

Is there anything more beautiful, more hopeful, to know that we live within the time of God’s great acceptance? This friendship with God that we experience as Christians is beyond comprehension.

But look closer, there is more. God’s saving work in our lives also includes freedom, healing and wholeness. God’s desire is to save but also to restore.

Let’s never be content with less than Jesus came for.

In this time of Advent, let’s invite God’s work of Jubilee right into the centre of our lives. As we remember the birth of Jesus, let’s also sit at the feet of the risen, victorious Jesus. Let’s dare to bring Him what is fractured, damaged or bound and expect His life-giving, restorative work, wherever we have need of it.

Let’s celebrate Christmas this year thankful for God’s gift of salvation but also hungry to know all the fullness of that salvation in our hearts and lives.