Before and After Stories

Restore -- as in something broken and then made new. To restore is to return someone or something to a better, often original, state. It’s a process we admire in the hands of artisans like Chip and Joanna Gaines.

They take the dated and dilapidated and transform it into something stunning -- a home, a hotel, a barn, all given new life -- with a lot of shiplap!! Honestly, who doesn’t love a good “before and after” reveal?

Restoration extends to relationships, old cars, or cherished furniture. Yet, the most profound restoration isn’t about objects; it’s about people. It’s when a lost soul, weighed down by hopelessness, is made new in the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. Think of it as the ultimate spiritual makeover -- no paint or hammers required!

The Bible is filled with the promise of restoration. King David, after devastating failures, cried out in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” God’s reply wasn’t rejection but grace.

The promise echoes still: “I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17). The Apostle Paul reminds us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When we surrender our failures and hurts to our Heavenly Father, the Master Restorer, He makes all things new. Brokenness is healed. Scars -- the evidence of life’s deepest pains -- become beautiful as they tell a story of redemption.

Picture this: our life’s messiest moments can be turned into a testimony so compelling, we might need a Kleenex sponsorship.

But restoration doesn’t stop with us. God invites us to share our story, to be agents of His restoration in a world desperate for hope.

Our scars become stars that guide others, our tests turn into testimonies, and our messes transform into messages of grace. Through God’s restoring love, we offer the world a glimpse of what it means to be made new.

So today, let’s surrender our hearts and lives to the Master Restorer. Let Him turn brokenness into beauty, for His glory and our good. And who knows? You might just become someone else’s favorite “before and after” story.