I have been watching a lot of HGTV lately, shopping at salvage yards and paying people a lot of money to sand and finish my original oak floors. Why? Restoration. It's on my brain right now as we bought a 1939 farmhouse that is in amazing condition, but shows some scars that most definitely have stories. We did not come in and demo the place, but instead filled in the scrapes, straightened the crooked and shined the dull.
Although it is a current trend, the idea of restoration is not new. The art of it dates back to centuries ago and includes one of my favorite examples: the Japanese form of Kintsugi. This word literally means "golden joinery." Artists take broken pottery and use metallic glue to put it back together. Not only does the glue make the pottery one piece again, but where it is applied gets strengthened and sparkly. Did you get that? The weakest part gets strengthened and sparkly! The cracks that were once a sign of brokenness and weakness, become the most vibrant, visually pleasing and valuable part. It's gold!
As I think about restoration, what strikes me is that it is not about starting over in order to make something new, but instead it is about taking what is already there and bringing it back to life. The Lord is the ultimate Author of restoration. It's His idea, really. He is not only the Author of it, but He is also the golden glue.
Colossians 1:17 reads, "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." He touches our brokenness and in those places, we are made stronger. In those places, we shine with His "golden joinery." In those places, we have a testimony.
Restoration takes form in different ways. Sometimes it is immediate and dramatic, when other times it is slow and steady. Even other times it will not happen until we get to Heaven, but when it happens, we can see God's sparkling glory in it.
