Fixer-Upper

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What others are saying:

"Cathy Messecar finds temples wherever she goes: in a chapel on a university campus, at her children's bedsides, in a church full of rustling Bible pages... or on a bale of hay, in the cab of an eighteen-wheeler, in the aisle of a grocery store. Like a long-ago Teacher walking the dusty roads of Galilee, she can spot the outlines of the sublime camouflaged by the ordinary. Her images will touch your imagination; her words will touch your heart; her visions of eternity will touch your soul." ---Thom Lemmons, co-winner of the 2006 Christy award for Christian fiction King’s Ransom



Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. Proverbs 28:14

When a friend said they bought a house, a “fixer-upper,” I knew what she meant. The house needed repairs, some major and minor ones. Her house project made me think of people and how throughout life we need adjustments.

My husband is fond of saying he doesn’t want to be too perfect -- needs to “leave room for a little improvement.” Some lives need a little some a lot.

Companions are a whole lot easier to get along with when we realize we’re all works of art and everybody’s clay is still wet. In life, I can help people change the TV channel and that’s about it. As one writer said, we can’t be someone’s Holy Spirit.

In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott tells about a woman whose husband made a habit of coming home drunk. Sometimes he’d pass out on their front lawn in the middle of the night, but the wife didn’t want their neighbors seeing his stupors.

Each time he passed out in the yard, the ashamed wife pulled him inside. Finally an elderly woman advised, “Honey, leave him where Jesus flang him.”

As tough as it is on family members, sometimes the wayward person needs to wake up in the ditch of the chaos they created. When one suffers the consequences of bad behavior, they may ask God to map the rest of their lives. When God grasps their steering wheel, he helps navigate to higher ground.

My late cousin Danny decided to recommit his life to God and make amends for quite a few years of poor choices. Later, he told me about his phone calls to friends and family to ask their forgiveness. He related some of their responses. “They were happy to hear from me, and about the good things in my life.” In his late 50’s Danny died in his sleep, peacefully—his house in order.

A new house needs upkeep; a neglected house may warrant an overhaul. God, the One who laid the foundations of the world, is the keeper of a plumb line that can align lives. Keep regular appointments with Him because we’re all fixer-uppers.

You may contact Cathy at www.stainedglasspickup.com