Closed for Remodeling

Right across from Church of the King is a Burger King. I use that term loosely, because here are some pictures of the aforementioned Burger King.

When I passed the Burger King a few weeks ago, I noticed they put this sign up. "Closed for Remodeling." "Oh," I thought. "Burger King is remodeling . . . getting some new paint, tables, chairs. That should be nice. I wonder when they'll open again?"

Later that day I drove by only to see a crane digging into the roof. By the next day, the building was gone. Parking lot torn up. Huge chunks of cement foundation in a large pile. Leveled. The only thing that remained was the Burger King sign that said, "Closed for Remodeling." Remodeling, huh? It's gotta be one of the biggest understatements that would make even that scary BK King chuckle.

As much enjoyment as this sign has brought, God's recently used it as a metaphor of sorts for my life right now. I hesitate even stating that, because the immediate picture that comes to mind is one of terrible destruction and distress and that could not be further from the truth. I'm indescribably happy. I love being married and this new season where God has me. So many things are so much better than I could have ever imagined and the things that I thought would be a big transition (i.e. living together, sharing a tube of toothpaste, etc.) really haven't been a big deal at all. The things that have been bigger lessons are quite surprising to me, mainly because I thought I had already learned them.

Before we got married, Brad and I made a prayerful and conscious choice for me to wait before I jumped into a job or ministry area at church in order to give me time to adjust. It seemed like a brilliant plan. I would spend some time remodeling . . . new city, new name, new role, new church, paint the walls, change the carpet . . . that's what I imagined my renovations to be. It seems like God has wanted to get much more foundational in His renovations, however, reestablishing my identity in Him, simply as His daughter before I am a wife, pastor's wife, daughter, job title, or any thing else I can throw in there. I've been going through the book, The Search for Significance, and while most of the teaching is Truths I've known my whole life, I'm amazed at how quickly I can forget them and how revolutionary they really are.

So, by God's grace, I'm choosing to embrace God's "crane" of sorts, and let Him dig up my foundation and rebuild it once again with the proper blocks of His Truths that I am accepted, loved, forgiven, and pleasing to Him regardless of what I do, what people think, what I've done or anything else I can come up with to try and rock that foundation.

I would like to think that after this, I will have learned this lesson for good and God and I can move on to something else. I'm beginning to think now, however, that this is the lesson. It's so core and crucial to everything else, that I'll probably just keep building upon it the rest of my life. And in the meantime, it's so encouraging to know that unlike Burger King, God can still use me to bless other people and be blessed by others while He is still remodeling. Amazing, isn't it? I'm pretty sure the BK King is jealous.