“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,” Philippians 1:12.

The term reclaimed is one of those modern day buzz words. It is all the rage to take something that was in ruin and “reclaim” it. It really just means to restore it. But if we don’t give it a new name, it isn’t as posh to do it. Lol.

Years ago, my husband suggested putting up some shelves in our kitchen. I was very resistant. Recently, it came to me that we really should put those shelves where he suggested. As usual, I regret not having followed his lead a long time ago : ).

So, we decided to do these shelves. I thought, “We have a lot of old wood that’s in a pile outside. I should try to reclaim some of it.” I ran out to the wood pile and was instantly struck by how weathered the wood was. But there were three pieces (all the same size) that were mere inches longer than we needed. I dragged them into a place where I could cut and sand some of the weathering off to see what we might have. I took the least weathered first and, to my surprise, it cleaned up quite nicely. Quickly, this board went from once ruined to now reclaimed.

So, I began to sand the next shelf and thought, “Wow!” It had some really unique patterns under all that decay. Due to my hard work, this board too had gone from once ruined to now reclaimed. The revealing of natural features and character on each of these boards thrilled me.

Finally, there was that third board. This board had surface mold. Water permeated the board and there was a complete covering of debris. I knew it would take days to dry it out.

My thought was, “This one is too ruined. Perhaps, we should just stick with two shelves instead of three.” So, I expressed this thought to my husband. But, before I knew it, he had the brackets up. As a result, I could not avoid this third shelf.

I decided to try and move forward with that old ruined board. I couldn’t use the board like this, though. So, it definitely needed to be dried out. The vent in our kitchen was the perfect location (we have forced hot air heating). Over the course of the next few days, it did dry out.

I broke out the sander again and began to work. The Lord gave me a beautiful day to do it and, as I sat out on our porch patiently sanding away, inch by inch, there were new discoveries. I found various marks, decays, and injuries within the wood. All my sanding could not remove some of these marks. But, as the board yielded to my hand and I drug the sander over it again and again, the surface became less imperfect. The longer I worked, the more exquisite the wood became and the more these marks told a beautiful story.

The Holy Spirit reminded me that this board is/was a picture of my life. It had gone from once ruined to now reclaimed. And, because of Jesus, so had I.

There was a big knot toward one of the ends of the board. The tree that this board came from had probably undergone some sort of trauma. Knots are a part of the growth process. Tree trunks consume smaller branches. This causes knots to form. Perhaps, this was the cause of the knot. Or, maybe, it was stress, attack, or disease that caused the knot in this tree. Similarly, I had experienced attacks and injuries in my life. Those injuries lay deep within me as well. They were almost undetectable just like those hidden in the tree. But God sees everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knew those deep wounds. “You keep track of all my sorrows and you have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” Psalm 56:8.

Insects, too, had caused damage, inhabiting the board. Digging deep into the wood, they either feasted on the wood or hid deep inside, trying to remain undetected. Consequently, they left their mark. They had done damage to the tree and to our board. This was similar to the guilt that I had from my sin. My guilt burrowed deep within me, trying to remain undetected. Unrelenting in it’s presence, it ate away at me, and left its mark. “For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” Psalm 38:17-18.

There were also sporadic black patterns. The water that permeated the board allowed mold and disease to grow, resulting in the various patterns of black stains. Sin had done the same to me. There were areas of my life that were stained with sin. Sin had caused permanent damage and my life would never be the same. But God knew. He saw. “O God, you know my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from you” Psalm 69:5.

All that I had endured, left marks and scars on my being, my emotions, and my soul. Consequently, hurt perpetrated by others, my own sin, the consequences it had, and the guilt that lingered, had all caused some sort of damage that lie deep within me… hidden from most. But God sees everything. Nothing escapes His view. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 4:13 (NLT).

And the way the damage to that board became beautiful when yielded to my hand and the sander, so did my scars, when yielded to the hand of the master! When I repented and gave my life to Christ, He took it all. And He bound up my wounds. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3. He removed my guilt. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1. He forgave my sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:9.

So, marks left by hurt, guilt, and sin cannot be removed. But, praise God, He has turned them into something unique and beautiful. I can use those hurts, and the way He healed me, for His glory. The damage done by guilt and sin can be used to point others to His forgiveness. I can tell others about all that God has done for me and rescued me from. And I can be a testimony to Him, turning those old scars into instruments of joy. “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” Psalm 126:5.

God is an incredible artist. He changes us (those who were once deep in sin) from once ruined to now reclaimed when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. Therefore, we are new creations. “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.

Father God, I cannot praise you enough for the work that you have done in me. I pray that those who read this blog and know you as their personal Savior will rejoice over the works that you have done in their lives. I also pray that we would praise you for taking us from once ruined to now reclaimed. We are reclaimed because of the work that you have done on the cross, Jesus, and we thank you.

Father, continue to make us a beautiful work. We yield to your mighty hand as you continue to create in us all that you had planned. Because of what Jesus has done, we can say thank you. And, on the day that He returns, the work that you began in us will be brought to exquisite, perfect completion. “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6. We pray these things in your precious and holy name, Jesus.

Jesus has reclaimed and redeemed us. We have gone from once ruined to now reclaimed. Isaiah 43:1 says, “Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and you are suffering with the marks and scars of pain, sin, and guilt, I pray that you will go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God loves you, desires a personal relationship with you, and longs to begin to heal your wounds and remove your guilt and sin. But it requires some repentance on your part. Please pray that prayer. Because of His forgiveness, the comfort and love that you will find in Christ pales in comparison to anything this world has to offer.

Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at Forgiven-N-Loved.com. I’d love to be in prayer for you.

Luv Ya!