Devotionals for the Heart: When you let God transform your heart and life

The Transformation
A devotional by Karen Marstaller

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”—2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Our home is almost 70 years old. It has been rewarding to carefully redo the inside while maintaining the history of its roots. The latest venture into remodeling was the final hold-out, the back bathroom.

Cramped, dark, and oh-so-tiny, the bathroom has served its purpose for all these years, untouched by a contractor’s hands. Efficiency was its strong point; it was possible to use all three facilities at once. Efficient, yes. Comfortable, not so much.

Enter Kenny and his wife. Their references were impeccable, and their former customers gave glowing reviews. We were hooked. And so the transformation of our tiny bathroom began…

First came demolition. In a little over a day, Kenny stripped all the old, worn-out fixtures and at least a ton of heavy tile and mortar out of the space. Then he expanded it to take in two unused closets that were just wasted spaces. Suddenly, the constricting feeling was gone. We weren’t closed in anymore because the bare studs outlined the new, expanded room.

With that job over, Kenny went to work on the foundation. Underneath the entire length of the floor joists, he placed new concrete piers and settled new beams firmly on top, attaching them to the original structure. Over the next few weeks, Kenny and his wife created an open, airy bathroom with tasteful (and utilitarian) details that make our home much more spacious. Beautiful design features include a glass-block window where my once-dying orchids now have a new lease on life.

Throughout this process of transformation, Kenny and his wife prayed for us and asked God to make their work a blessing for our home. The Lord has answered their prayers and ours as well. In place of a once forbidding space, we now have a lovely, quiet retreat.

The Lord works for us in the same way that Kenny and his wife did in our ancient bathroom.

First, He takes our shabby, run-down, sinful selves and then He introduces us to His Son, Jesus Christ, who takes down all the walls that our sinful hearts harbor. Stripping away all the “junk” of our old way of living, He builds a new foundation based on Him: His security, His strength, His hope, His love, His joy, and His forgiveness of our sins.

Next, He creates new capacity for us to love, to forgive, and to show grace and mercy toward others. Just like Kenny used wasted space to complete his design, God brings life out of the emptiness or our existence without Christ. He truly makes a whole new creation out of our dark and selfish lives.

With His finishing touches, God asks us to wait patiently for His completed work. Just as our bathroom wasn’t finished overnight, the Lord works tirelessly to make us new. He spends our whole lifetime helping us prepare to spend eternity with Him. And His work is always perfect, even though we don’t see it yet.

The Lord also has work for us to do here on Earth. He sends people on our path along the way. One of the most wonderful things about living for Jesus is to see other people begin to grow and blossom, just like the orchids in our window. This life Christ promises is called “abundant” in John 10:10, and that’s exactly what it is.

Our ugly little bathroom is now a beautiful place, thanks to our contractors. And in the same way, we also give thanks to the Lord for His lovely, transformative work in us, His children.

Let’s Pray: Dear Lord God, thank You for forgiving all our sins and then making us new on the inside. Please continue to make us more and more like Your Son, Jesus. It is in His Name that we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “A Heart Like Yours” by CeCe Winans. Listen to it here. 

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Author Bio:

Karen Marstaller is a retired high school teacher who spent most of her career challenging creative students to write. Her heart is for her readers. 

She writes to encourage them, to make them laugh, to show them that life is a beautiful journey, and regardless of their past, to show them that there is joy ahead if they will just keep looking.

Karen and her husband live in central Texas in a sweet little home that they completely remodeled. They enjoy spending time with their family, which includes seven precious grandchildren.

Most of all, Karen writes in obedience to the command to love your neighbor, to offer a cup of water to those who are dying of thirst, and to comfort others with the comfort she has received.

You can reach Karen by emailing her at this address: klmarstaller@gmail.com