The process of change.

I live in a small but growing town. There is one highway that connects our town from the freeway. The highway use to work as a two lane road...one lane for each direction. It worked with only a few stop lights a long the way. It worked for the time being...in fact the highway was more like another road that happen to allow you to drive faster than the side streets. We still have a few original brick roads in our town. But we are growing. We now have businesses and stores that we couldn't image years earlier would be here.

Because we are growing our highway needed improvements. It needed to become wider and also accommodate the amount of cars that were using it. So began a long improvement project. The construction happens mostly during sleeping hours...so we wake up to changes. We have been inconvenienced by the bumps and torn up sections of road.

I work at a fruit and produce store on that highway. The entry to our store has been torn up for the last few months. Getting in and out of our store has been difficult at times. We had four days where our driveway was blocked and the entrance was moved down the street to a connecting stores driveway.

Everyday customers complain about the road. They ask when is this going to be done. They tell me how annoying it is and what a pain it is. They can't believe how long it is taking. Some use the words hate...stupid...frustrating...can't wait until it is done....

For a while I would chime in and agree...but I started saying how great it is going to be when it is done. We are going to have a great driveway in to our store. The road will be wide enough for the amount of cars we have. The roads will be smooth and easy to drive on. The stop lights will improved. It will be easier to turn across the highway.

The process of the improvement is not always pleasant. It is messy, uncomfortable, an inconvenience. It isn't pretty. It is all torn up and hard to maneuver through. But when it is done....we will be amazed.

When we go through storms in our lives we have a hard time seeing the end result. We want it fixed now. We have a hard time waiting through the process. But with out the process we can't have the improvements. Without the process we won't have the outcome.

We look at the... torn up street and the length of the construction and see a mess. God sees what He is creating. He sees the plan and knows what we will look like after the storm and the transformation. He sees the end result.

We can have an eternal outlook on our life and know that through the process of redemption the end result will be a smooth road...a completed project...a beautiful creation.

The torn up road...the storm.
The construction...the restoration process.
The process...long and slow.
The result...God's plan...a straight path...a beautiful smooth highway...a life reflecting Him.

Be patient with the construction. It will be worth it when God is done. In the midst of the chaos....there is light and peace...God has a plan with the process. Let it happen. Wait for the outcome. It will be great.
Teresa