Opportunity to Become God’s Fixer Upper!

If you've ever watched (and, in my case, was addicted to) HGTV's "Fixer Upper" (after five seasons, now only in re-runs), you saw a fun-loving and talented couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, transform old, in need of repair homes into a beautiful work of art. You will also probably know about their Magnolia Market, their family and what their values are about. I had been to their place before, and once was enough, but Bryson pleaded “Nana, can we stop in Waco at Magnolia Market?”

He and his mama have been fans of the show and he knew we’d be driving through Waco. He didn’t have to ask twice because I hadn’t seen the place for a couple of years and since then, there have been several add-ons. Now there’s an on-site bakery, a seed and feed store, and there are picnic tables all over where you can eat your food that is purchased from food trucks. Bryson had a yummy gourmet grilled cheese sandwich there. AND, they have added a fifth child – a baby boy, and it seems their notoriety just keeps getting grander all the time. Good for them!

They became famous by transforming homes that looked hopeless, but it's their example of a loving family that is proving to be the truest testament to their faith. The couple told the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, "Our family has made a commitment to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well. They showed us how to keep our marriage and family centered around God. As for 'Fixer Upper,' we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we've glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day."

Like the Gaines', God takes broken, in disrepair, unwanted and neglected people and through His mighty power transforms them into works of art and beauty. Chip and Joanna helped people find their "before-the-dream-come-true" fixer-upper, then the future homeowners had to let Chip and Joanna perform their "magic" on the home. In the same way, we must give relinquish control and submit to God's transforming power in our lives.

We, too, have the opportunity to be on display as "Parades of Homes, Life, and Blessings". When God is our #1, His blessings will chase us down, and His light will shine brightly through us to a world that needs to see true examples of commitment, faith, values, and love. Like the Gaines', God takes broken, in disrepair, unwanted and neglected people and through His mighty power, transforms them into works of art and beauty. Chip and Joanna helped people find their "before-the-dream-come-true" fixer-upper, then the future homeowners had to let Chip and Joanna perform their "magic" on the home. In the same way, we must give relinquish control and submit to God's transforming power in our lives.

Sometimes, the houses that Chip and Joanna helped select for their clients were so pathetic, that they had to completely demolish the existing structure, and then they were able to start fresh and clean as though the old house was never there. Isaiah 43:18-19 says “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” When we are ready to demolish that old life of regrets, mistakes, failures, tragedies, self-pity, defeat and sorrow, to living the glorious and abundant life that Christ came to bring us, we will be God's "fixer-upper" and show-off what a "Brand New Life" can look like and be.

Maybe you are a fixer-upper. You desire your life to be filled with peace, joy, abundance, healing, and victory? Maybe you'd like your tired, weary and stagnant life to be transformed into life brand new? It can happen because the One Who created us is ready to transform us from the inside out! The makeover we receive is all new and perfect in His sight. It starts by placing our lives in the hands of the Master Transformer. The choice is ours. We can submit ourselves as a fixer-upper, or we can hang on to the shabby house, the tattered clothes and the old way of life. The Lord won't force Himself on us. On the other hand, He will never turn us down . . . we merely need to say, "I'm ready, Lord. Have your way with me! I'm ready to be a fixer-upper!"