Removing Wallpaper!

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to remove the wallpaper in my dining room. (No that is not a picture of the wallpaper in my dining room; so don't worry, haha!)

I have done this before, and I know what is in store. I am not looking foward to it.

We already tried our hoped-for attempt of peeling it off dry. No such luck.

So here we go with scrolling, steaming, and hours of peeling.

It reminds me of many years ago when my husband and I bought our first little home in Illinois. We needed to remove the wallpaper from the kitchen area that had been damaged by water.

As we soaked and began the peeling process, I was amazed to find another layer of wallpaper underneath. The previous owners had wallpapered over wallpaper!

After scraping off the top layer, my husband and I started working on the second layer.

Yes, you may have guessed it. There was yet ANOTHER layer of wallpaper under that one!

This last layer though was gorgeous! It fit our decor exactly, and as struggling newlyweds on a teacher salary, it was an answer to our financial worries as to what to do with this kitchen.

Oh, but the work it took! Some days I spent hours it seems just get a foot of that second layer of wallpaper off of the original layer.

I wonder if that is what God is doing with me as I keep waiting rather impatiently for His direction on how to use me? I have had to have several layers it seems peeled quite painfully off of me to see His love and glory in my life.

Loss of a career, death of my parents, and waiting now, wondering if I will ever be useful for Him again...

Lots of blessings have happend as well during the peeling process though: Adoption of my sweet daughter, losing my fear of death as I cared for my parents, emotional healing, spiritual priorities established, love of His Word....

I think the last layer will be so much more beautiful than what He started with, don't you?

How about you? How is God peeling off the damaged layers of sin in your life today? It isn't easy. It certainly isn't fun.

--But some day you will see just how beautiful you have become.

Now, back to my dining room mess.... :-)