All things new

I can not believe it has been almost a week since I last posted something out in the blogosphere. For that I am truly sorry. I ended last week sick as a dog. I spent all day Friday in the bed not emerging until midday Saturday, and even having emerged, I was still not fully with it. Then came a whirlwind of Sunday activities and the in-laws arriving for a visit. Top that off with a flurry of activity on Monday and I am once again worn out.
We are in the beginning stages of a complete kitchen remodel, plus laying new floors in the living areas, the hall and the kitchen. And since we are laying new floors, we thought why not re-paint everything while we are at it.
Here is what we have done so far: torn out a wall to open up the kitchen, removed all the kitchen cabinets, except the one that holds the kitchen sink, and thoroughly messed up our daily living arrangements as well as our free time over the next 3 or 4 months.
First, let me say, that I am so excited about having a NEW kitchen. It is long overdue, anyone who has stepped foot into our house would agree that our kitchen has never been good for us, and we have lived here for 8 years!!! In the old kitchen, I had 2feet of counter space on each side of the sink.....and that was it!!!! Talk about a cramped kitchen...it was ridiculous.
And now, here we are, remodeling and I am miserable.
Not only because we are currently in TOTAL disarray, but because I HATE the little things. My husband can vouch for this...I am all about a new project, but I like to get in there and do it. I do not like to have to hassle with the little stuff. In my mind, I'm thinking, take out the old cabinets, order the new ones, install them, and ta-dah the kitchen is done. I don't like to think about patching drywall, re-painting, re-wiring, plumbing, etc. I am definitely a big picture kind of person, not a details person.
Remodeling our kitchen ourselves, really puts me between a rock and a hard place. I am already growing impatient, and we are just now starting. As I sat this morning, thinking of the uphill battle we have ahead of us and the huge amount of work we are taking on, I began to think of how appropriate remodeling is for the soul. And I began to wonder how often my Heavenly Father must grow impatient with me as I focus on the Big Picture and let the little things fall by the wayside in my own Spiritual journey.
I began to think about all the verses that speak of us being "a new creation" in Christ. I of course started there, since that fits with my get 'er done mentality. I am all about the new...it's chipping away with the old, and being refitted with the new, that is painful.
Romans chapter 6 says this in the Message:
1-3So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! 6-11Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.
12-14That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.

Let me start with the end..."living in the freedom of God" needs to be my reminder that I am not a slave to the old, I have been redeemed. But why do I get so caught up in the remodeling process of the soul? Why can't my human nature just slip into my "new" persona? Why do I keep re-visiting my old country like the verse states. Why am I complaining about having my old parts ripped out, when I KNOW that the new ones will "fit" me so much better? The transformation is the problem, not the preexisting framework, and not the new framework. It is the "transforming" of our minds that I fight. As my DH use to say, before he gave his life to Christ, "If God wanted me to change my ways, he would have me wake up and be changed, I wouldn't have to do a thing." That is so how I want this remodel to go. (both the kitchen and my soul) I just want the finished project.
But, here in lies the irony. I LOVE the process. I HATE it, but I love it just the same. I hate the hangups and the mess ups, but I love the choices and the newness of the process. So, basically, I guess I like no worries, pain-free kind of transformations. Am I alone, here?
One final thought. I loved the part of the verse that said, " Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good?" I love the mentality that is shared with the reader. Like, "come on stupid, what were you thinking?" How often do I play "dumb" when it comes to honoring and obeying my Lord? I want to have it both ways, and He is not satisfied with my half-hearted attempts. How lucky am I that He does not leave me half transformed, like my kitchen, but instead He sees it through till the end.
May your journey be thoughtful, and your transformation complete.