Removing the mess....

So scott and I were at my grandmas house doing some painting awhile back and on one of the walls there was a huge decal/sticker of two horses. Without the decal the wall would have a completely different look and identity. In order for us to paint the wall and give it that new shiney look however, first we had to remove that old horse decal. When I first started pulling it off it was so hard. It was really stuck on there good and who knows how long it had been there. Regardless of what section I tried removing or what technique I used it just didnt want to come off other than in small little pieces.

Eventually what was once a picture of two horses was now just a mess, the picture was unrecognizable and no matter how much paint we tried to use to cover it up you would still be able to see it and know that something was there....something was left from the past that never fully was removed. I started thinking about how much our lives represent that wall. Sometimes we put beautiful decals on our walls and sometimes we end up with ugly messes. Those decals dont define who we are totally, just like that one decal of two horses didnt make up the entire room however they did represent some of what those walls mean and what our lives mean.

After I had been tediously working to try and remove the decal from the wall I discovered if I put a little water on the messy spot first then it was much easier to peel it off and you couldnt even tell it was there. At one point I put a ton of water on a spot and started peeling it away and a huge piece came off for me this was an awesome moment because it felt good tearing away a huge ugly piece and seeing something so beautiful and new underneath. There are things in my life, decals I have placed on my wall that I wish I could just rip down. I wish I didnt have to look at the uglyness and be reminded of what things I have allowed to be put on my wall and to make up my identity.

I'm sure you all have decals on your walls also that just doesnt fit, it messes up our walls and it changes the looks of our lives but like that little bit of water God can help strip those ugly patches away and make whats underneath beautiful and new. That doesnt mean it will be easy or fast because it definitely took me awhile and alot of scrubbing to get those decals off the wall but the end result was so worth it. Who knows how long those decals had been on those walls or how long we have let those decals remain on the walls of our hearts but God is so much bigger than time and depth. Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

I am ready to allow Him to start striping those decals off my heart so I can start over and get back my true identity in Christ. We dont have to let those ugly reminders label who we are or what our lives represent but instead we can allow God to strip away the uglyness and make us new and shiney. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. (Isaiah 38:17b)