I’m a huge fan of the Property Brothers on HGTV. If I am folding clothes, I am usually watching Jonathan and Drew Scott as they help families purchase and remodel rundown properties. At the end, after showing all the ups and downs of the process, they tour the beautiful renovation. It’s a dream home! As the astonished homeowners gawk and sob, one of the brothers always says—this must be their catch-phrase—”You deserve it!”
It’s the same thing every episode…so why do I watch this show? Why do any of us love Before & After stories? New hairdos, wardrobe overhauls, refurbished vehicles and kitchens, weight-loss/fitness makeovers…we LOVE to see the evidence of change.
But what does it take to get there? To get to the beautiful ending? Work. Sweat. Maybe some tears. We crave the perfect, the product, but, often, we despise the process it takes to get there.
Most of us dread the workout, but want to look great in our jeans. We don’t enjoy cleaning, but we love the shiny, sweet-smelling endpoint. We don’t like waiting, We want results, and we want them fast. We don’t want to wait for anything. This is the way of the world.
Yet, this is not the way of the Lord:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecc. 3:11, ESV
What if…we realized that most of life is lived in the Middle? That most of life is work, sweat, and tears?
What if…we saw a Before & After and did not covet the result, but admired the effort exerted?
What if…we acknowledged that every “Big Reveal” pales in comparison to the biggest reveal of them all—the Resurrection?
God made us. He knows how we appreciate object lessons. Every Before & After points to real work…and ultimately to the Worker of all improvements. God is our Redeemer, Reconciler, and Renewer. He is the Powerful Provider, the Perfecter of Our Faith, the Purifier of Our Souls.
As much as we want to hurry projects along, God determines our pace. As much as we want our growth to come quickly, He sets the schedule. And though we hunger for change, we are designed to crave the Change Agent.
So, welcome to my little project! This website is the home-base for a Lenten Curation. Here we will work together to collect, or CURATE, Before & After pictures. But in this place, we will always see a different purpose for Before & Afters—they are meant to point to God in the Middle, always at work, making things right.
So, Meet Me in the Middle! This is a journey of learning to be satisfied with the work and pace of the Lord. I’m glad to have you with us!
