Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Distressed Jeans, Wood, and Souls

The first time one of my teenagers begged me for a pair of distressed jeans, his eyes were huge. He thought the ripped and abraded denim was beautiful. It was a new, very cool, status symbol.

My perspective as a mom who wanted pants to last as long as possible was quite different.

A few years ago, a friend showed off her distressed wood furniture. It had the strength of a new piece of furniture (which it was), but the appearance of an antique (because of purposeful marking and marring).

Today, I explored the internet to learn how do-it-yourself people can create the distressed look. With wood, you can put nuts, screws, and bolts in a bag and then beat the wood. With jeans you can put a block of wood under the fabric and then rub the denim with a nail file or a cheese grater. Yikes! I guess you do what it takes to get the look of age you want.

But what about when you have a distressed soul that feels old and helpless from the flailing of others' sins banging into you without mercy? What if your distressed, abused heart looks horrifyingly ugly to you? What if you are longing for restoration, rather than another round of abuse?

There are people who take old furniture and make it look like new by devoting hours of loving attention to nicked wood.

There are artists who take seemingly useless jeans and create art pieces.

And there is One who can take beat up souls and refurbish them. He can tenderly repair the bruised heart, the torn soul, the soiled mind, the beaten spirit.

I know He can, because He's refurbished me!


"I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again, just as you promised." Psalm 119:107 (NLT)

5 comments:

Dianne E. Butts said...

Beautiful thoughts, Tanya. I'll look forward to seeing where this blog goes.

Dianne
http://www.ButtsAboutIt.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Well done! Distressed jeans,wood & souls does a great job of putting images in your mind and really gets the point across. I am impressed!
Keep up the good work!
There is hope in God!

Terry Whalin said...

Tanya,

Good work on this entry. Keep it up. You have an important ministry.

Terry
The Writing Life

Anonymous said...

God can indeed restore the wounded, the battered, and the downtrodden. Having been physically abused by an ex-husband many years ago, I know that God’s mercies are new every morning (see Lamentations 3:22-23). He heals, gives peace, and proves himself as the God of all comfort. What a blessing to be able to minister to other women from our own experiences, give them hope and show them the love of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

Cherise
Single Moms' Care Package

Anonymous said...

This is so powerfully written. May God bless your ministry.
http://hiswhisperings.wordpress.com

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