My new balcony!

"Ding dong the witch is dead, which old which? The wicked witch! Ding Dong the Wicked witch is dead!" sung by the munchkins in the Wizard of OZ!
Don't ask me why that song is stuck in my head? I don't know! What I do know is that I am hearing crash, bang, boom, and country music from 9 to 5 everyday. We live in apartments and the balcony above me is getting a makeover. It wouldn't be so intrusive, except my dogs don't understand why there are shadows crossing our windows all day. Or why that banging outside sounds like a knock at the door. You can see why it might cut me to the bone to hear non stop banging and barking all day.

When they opened up the exterior of the balcony to expose the wood, I was shocked to see how rotted it was. Obviously this is why the remodel is needed, but I never knew before how unstable it really was until someone exposed it. What a synonym of my life. If you were to look at me from the outside before CR you would have thought I was stable, steady and headed on the right path. Besides my obvious eating problem, I was very involved in my church, lived a modest lifestyle, and tried to point people to God whenever I could.

               
But, I was rotting on the inside. Feeling devoid of purpose and really looking to myself to hold up the weight of all my burdens and those around me. I did not even know the damage I had sustained by the weight and pressures that life had left on me on the inside. Celebrate Recovery helped me expose the termites within that were eating away my happiness. It helped me scoop out the rotten wood of the past and replace it with fresh strong boards. God gave me support beams to hold me up like accountability partners, sponsors, and dear Christian friends, that can help me stay strong through even the toughest storms. And slowly he is painting the outside to be a beautiful reflection of Him. I am being transformed! Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."




What a gift it is to see through new eyes! To know that even if my paint cracks or gets weathered that I will be able to stand strong. That I am a creation of His Holiness, the King of Kings, The Perfect One. That He made me from His Hands! That he cherishes me from the tip of my head to the bottom of my toes. And I am not alone! He made you the same! He formed you in His Image! I am starting to see the value of all of His children, because of the change He made in me. The bum on the street corner, is His child! The lady at the grocery store that is holding up the line, was made by the Almighty King! The bully in the school yard is a child of the Almighty God! I used to see people through their sins and their mistakes. But now I can see the hurt and the pain in their lives. This is why I praise this program! God is doing His wonderful works right now, can you see it? Or are you too tired from holding up the weight? Are you blinded by the exterior of others so you can't see the inside? Don't live life painting a rotten board. Lets go play in the sawdust!

P.S. I am giving my testimony tonight at CR, I pray that it will bring someone closer to God. Will you pray that too?