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Remodeling by Serena Butler Remodeling. Nothing is ever as easy as you think it will be when you start a remodeling project. I recently decided to do some remodeling in my house. I wanted new carpet in the living room and to replace the carpet in the dining room with hard wood flooring. I went to the local flooring store, picked out the carpet and hard wood and scheduled the day for the men to come install the flooring. The carpet layers were coming first, so the living room was cleared of its furniture and moved into the dining room in preparation for their arrival. The laborers arrived and went to work removing the old carpet and padding. When they pulled it up, we discovered that the living room and dining room were built on a concrete slab instead of the anticipated wood subfloor. That was fine for the new carpet, but hard wood flooring cannot be laid on concrete. So, I had to go to Plan B for the flooring in the dining room. I headed back to the store to look at other options and settled on a different type of flooring that could be glued to the concrete. Two days later the workers would arrive to install the new dining room floor. So, I needed to move all the furniture that was piled into the dining room back into the living room for the carpet to be removed and the new flooring installed in that room. Again, workers arrived and began to pull up the carpet and the padding. As the concrete was exposed and examined, we discovered that the surface was uneven and had several dips and small holes. I was also planning to run the wood flooring into the kitchen area and the original plan was to lay the wood over top of the existing linoleum. But we soon discovered that there were two layers of linoleum. This created a larger height variance and would not allow for an easy transition between the two rooms. Are you beginning to understand why nothing is every as easy as you think? The flooring installer informed me that he would not recommend installing a floor that needed to be glued because over a short period of time the glue would not hold due to the uneven concrete. He said he could patch the holes and try to fill in the low spots, but the labor involved to completely level the floor would be very costly. He suggested that I go back to the store and select different flooring that did not have to be glued down. Plan C...another trip to the store. I selected my third type of flooring and scheduled a day for the installation which would take place five days later. In the mean time, I had to live with a non-livable living room filled with wall to wall furniture and a dining room with a bare concrete floor. The house is finally back in order with new carpet in the living room and new flooring in the kitchen and dining room. I love it, but I had to make some changes to my original plan along the way. Throughout Scripture, God calls us to do some remodeling in our lives. He has a plan to rip out the old stuff of this world and replace it with new, better, godly things. Romans 12:1-2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." He knows that we need to dig down to the foundation and begin by remodeling our mind. If we can have the mind of Christ, everything else will fall into place. 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us that if we are followers of Jesus Christ, then we have the mind of Christ. God wants to totally transform our lives and make us new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states it this way, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" God has a new look planned for us. He knows it is time to get rid of the old and put on the new. The difference between the remodeling that we do on our homes and the remodeling that God does in our lives is that He already knows what lies hidden beneath the surface. Psalm 69:5 says, "You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you." He is never surprised by the holes or uneven parts of our lives that need to be leveled. When Jesus encountered the Samaritan women at the well He knew her past. When He asked her to go get her husband and she responded by saying that she didn’t have a husband, He already knew. Does the Scripture say, "Oh, um, well we will have to change the plan. I thought you were married."? No. Jesus says, (paraphrase mine) "Yeah, I know. You’ve had five and you’re working on number six." He comes fully prepared to repair those scars and to cover over them. He brings all the tools He needs the first time around. He never has to go to Plan B. The thing is that He will not make the changes if we are not willing to be changed. We have to agree to have Him rip out the old stuff, make the needed repairs to our foundation, and install the new life He has picked out for us. The rich young ruler was unwilling to make the changes. Jesus knew that the young man’s biggest hang up was his wealth. He told the young man to get rid of it. But Matthew 19:22 tells us, "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." By comparison, Zacchaeus made a total life change when he encountered Christ. He was a tax collector who made his living by over charging his clients. After Jesus ate dinner at his home, Zacchaeus decided to let Jesus do some remodeling in his life. Here is his response, as recorded in Luke 19:8, "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Wow! His life would never be the same. If we want God to remodel our lives it will take some effort and time for the changes to take place, but it will be well worth it. Now, when I enter my home, I breathe deeply to take in the smell of the new carpet and walk around in my bare feet to feel the plush softness. I stand and admire the new floor in the kitchen and dining room. I wonder why it took me so long to make the changes. I feel like I am living in a new house. When we allow God to remodel our lives, we will also stand and soak up the new feelings and wonder why it took us so long to allow Him to do it. It will feel like a new life because it is. You will love the finished product. What is the finished product? This is the most amazing part. God remodels us to be more like Jesus. Philippians 3:20-21 says, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." God is the Master of interior design and He has the perfect plan for your life. The blueprints are drawn up, the materials are chosen, and He is ready to begin. You just have to let Him go to work.