I found a television show awhile back that has become one of my favorites. I should probably say “our favorites” because my husband likes the show as much as I do.
Husband and wife Chip and Joanna Gaines have a real winner with their Fixer Upper home program on HGTV. Chip’s an old pro with a hammer and construction, and Joanna has an amazing ability to take something old and beat-up and turn it into something beautiful.
On every episode that I’ve seen, the final results are stunning, each room redone with love and care and then staged with furniture and accessories chosen with Joanna’s flawless taste.
There are so many things I like about this show. Almost every program features segments with their family, sometimes on the site of the home they’re remodeling, and other times at their gorgeous Magnolia Farm, usually with everyone outside enjoying their menagerie of animals.
In an era where so much of television is anything but family-friendly, it’s refreshing to see a family where it’s obvious that love abounds.
Sometimes the program features scenes from Magnolia, their home décor boutique. Everything always looks so homey and appealing and I can usually pick out 10 or 12 things I want to buy in the couple of minutes the cameras are in the store.
On most of the episodes they help a couple or family in their quest to find a home in their price range. They typically show three homes to the couples during each program.
Chip and Joanna talk with the folks about the price of the home and then share a plan of what they can do to turn the building into a showplace with the amount of cash that’s left in the home-buying budget after purchasing the house.
Some of the typical homes they show the couples aren’t bad. They just need a little paint and a few tweaks to make them look nice. Others need more extensive work and require a larger budget.
And then there are the homes that make you gasp out loud when the camera pans to them–the relics that look like a strong wind could blow them down. Or sometimes they’re so strewn with trash that you can’t even see the bones of the house.
I love it when Chip and Joanna show those particularly bad homes to their clients. Skepticism is always plastered on their faces as they get a first look at the falling-down shacks. All they see is something useless.
But not Chip and Joanna. They look at those houses and recognize the potential. They look past the flaws and see the great bones of the rooms. They have the vision to look at those worn and shabby structures and see what they could become with a little love and care.
You know, it’s just the same way with God. Others might look at us and say, “Wow, what junk. Throw them away. They certainly aren’t worth keeping.”
But then God–the Master rehab expert–says, “Something useless? I don’t think so. Look at the potential! They just need some work.
“The trash needs to be cleaned out of their lives,” He says. “I can sand away the damaged places, and when I add a coat of mercy and grace to freshen them up, you’ll be amazed at how beautiful they’ll become.”
And unlike those potential homeowners who have to worry about how much it will cost, we don’t even have to consider that–because He paid the price for every bit of it.
Dear Father, thank You for looking beyond our flaws and imperfections. Thank you for being the Master Craftsman who knows just what is needed to turn our lives into something beautiful.
We’re so grateful for your tender mercy and grace as You build us into what You want us to become. Most of all, thank You for Your amazing love that said, “I’ll pay the price for them.” Amen.
