Vintage Restoration

A few weeks ago I spoke at a vintage trailer gathering about restoration. I love vintage cars and how people restore them into such beautiful condition. I talked about how many people see an old car like this sitting in someones back field and talk about the "junk" in that back yard. I don't see them as junk. I look at them and see what it can become. Someone said to me that some are just too far gone to even try to fix, but I don't believe that. I relate this to life. I have been working with a young lady since she was in 8th grade and now 34 years old. She came from a extremely dysfunctional family life and has been going down the spiral of life to the point that she has given up on life. She is a cutter, user, violent and every other abuse she can try to cover the pain in her life. I see her like this car. Every one looks at her like she is too beat up to try to fix up. Too damaged, too far gone, no hope! I can't think that way. She needs someone who won't tell her it's too late. She needs someone who will care and love her even though she doesn't care if she lives or dies. I believe that God looks at us this way. He sees beyond what we have become no matter how wasted we are or how low we go. He sees the value of what we can become and doesn't give up on us. So when I look at this old car I see a car that has been used and abused, but I see what it can become with the help of someone who cares and loves it and will work with it until it is restored. When these cars are restored then people see the beauty in it again. Some of the scars are still there just like in our lives, but it reminds us of where we have been and helps us to remember where we have come from. So try to look at life through God's eyes and know that He will bring us through anything we face and if we allow Him to restore us, He can bring beauty out of the junk of our life.