A Renovated Heart in the Midst of Dust and Chaos

by Susan Miller

Oh what fun…the projects we plan…the schedules we set! So many of my friends are in the middle of a home makeover and dealing with the stress of waiting. They wait to get on the schedule of busy contractors and workers. They wait on backorders to get building materials, furniture, or appliances. They wait for the normalcy of settling back in their home again and the rhythm of routine again.

I remember a time when Bill and I had a major makeover to give our older home a newer look. I lost sight of how great it would all be when everything was finished and was consumed with the mess and inconvenience of each day. (Of course, by now, years later, my house could use a complete overhaul again. I’m sure when anyone walks in my door, they think that a lot of updating is needed from floor to ceiling, but I am happy and content with my older traditional home and am definitely not a minimalist with my love of memorabilia in every room.) 

Once our renovation was complete and everything was finally back where it belonged (including me), I took a deep breath and looked back on what I learned during that “what-seemed-forever-to-finish” process:

• Prayer should always begin your day and a grateful heart should always end your day.
• Flexibility and patience are key in reducing stress during a major change in your life.
• Keeping perspective on the end result can get you through the day.
• Attitude can make or break you (and those around you).
• Your time frame for completion is not the same as those involved in making it happen.
• Practice ‘letting go’ of the things over which you have no control.
• Your life can feel uprooted and disrupted when your home lacks order and is not settled.
• Relationships are more important than a task.
• It’s not how well you start, it’s how well you finish!

Funny how I can apply all the things I learned to every aspect of my life – not only during change and transition, but in relationships, marriage, parenting, and yes, in moving! I never want to miss the opportunity of what God is teaching me through anything, big or small, that is happening in my life.

We had renovated our home, but God had renovated my heart in the process!

As always, from my heart to yours,