The Repair Shop
by Margaret Davies
I enjoy watching a programme on TV called ‘the Repair Shop’, where people bring along their treasured, but often battered, items to be repaired and brought back to life by master craftsmen. You see the most dilapidated items being brought in, but, in the craftsman’s hand, they are beautifully restored to their former glory. The process always seems to be one of stripping down, so that the restoration procedure can begin. It is painstaking and skilled work, and I’m sure it takes many hours of hidden work which we don’t see on screen, stripping, repairing, replacing and reassembling, before the hidden and distorted beauty is restored.
It reminds me of what God wants to do in each one of our lives, if we give Him permission. Many of the items brought to the repair shop have been hidden away in attics and drawers for years, and the owners have had to make a conscious decision to bring them to the restorer. Some are rather fearful of what the end result will be, if they are particularly treasured items.
How much more our Heavenly Father, the master craftsman, wants us to come to Him in His repair shop with all our brokenness, our damage, and our shame which we’ve kept hidden away! After years of heartbreak, hurt and pain, our shattered lives may feel broken into so many pieces that we’ve lost all hope of ever being restored.
I have seen many items on the programme arrive in a bag of bits and fragments, and watched how they are lovingly cleaned, glued and restored. When the work is finished you cannot even see where all the damage was, and there’s no trace of the ugly glue marks.
This is such a picture of how our loving Heavenly Father longs to restore us, however battered, crushed or damaged we may feel. Today, why not approach Him and give Him permission to heal any hurt and damaged places in your life and bring you back to the fullness of life that He desires for you? Perhaps you would like to pray the following prayer.
Prayer: I thank You that You are the Master Craftsman, the One who knit me together in my mother’s womb. I release myself into Your loving arms today, for Your work of restoration in my life. Amen.
Margaret Davies is married to Trevor whom she met and married in Israel where she worked in various ministries for almost 10 years. They joined Ellel Ministries in Scotland in 2002 where they served for almost 13 years, and have just recently left the full time team at Blairmore House. They are presently living in a small village in North Essex, and Margaret enjoys baking, gardening and walking.
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