I bought our house when I was 23 years old. I didn’t make the most wise decision. I fell in love with the house on the MLS site, saw it once, and decided to buy it without seeing any other houses. It has three bedrooms and two baths and most importantly, for where I live and what I was concerned with, indoor laundry! For me, as a single woman, it worked out fine.

Fast forward 14 years, a husband, 3 kids, 2 cats later, this house doesn’t really feel very big at 943 square feet with a bonus room we have made out of a sun porch of 300 square feet. But it is in a fantastic location for us, across the street from the kids school, easy access to highways and all the major hospitals for my doctors appointments, so we have decided that living cozily isn’t such a bad thing.

We have done some work on the house. We updated one bathroom fairly completely, laid better floor in the laundry room and other bathroom, added the sunroom which is a lifesaver, and changed out lower kitchen cabinets and countertop (still laminate, by the way). Every project has come with its own unique set of problems. Every single water space in the house we have ended up with broken pipes. And the water main to turn the water off for the house is buried by a tree by the side of the road. So that is always an adventure as you can imagine especially in summer when the grass is growing and you can’t find the right spot!

Now, we have embarked on the biggest project to date. Floors. Through the whole main part of our house. Kids bedrooms, a hallway, and our living room, which is becoming a dining room off the kitchen and an entry foyer, and the kitchen. I am SO excited. I feel like I’m watching my baby grow up!

But oh my goodness, the work involved in this has been intense, made in part by us, deciding to take the immediate opening they had to lay the floor and not wait the two weeks we thought we had.

We had to move everything we owned basically into our back sunroom, I painted the main part of the house, the kids are sleeping in our room on the floor. It’s definitely an adventure. The floor is out though! No more ugly, cracked tile with painted grout, no more filthy carpet that had seen better days five years ago. The change already is stunning!

But this project revealed pure gold! The house has wood floors underneath the carpet which we did know about. The kitchen and living room are mismatched and very much unsalvageable. But, the kids rooms, they have amazing, beautiful hardwood floors! They have a few scratches, but they have been preserved beautifully underneath that ugly, messy carpet. I’m so excited. We are talking to the flooring guys about the possibility of leaving those and not covering them.

After all of the stress of getting ready for the floors to go in, finding those beautiful floors was just the reward I needed for my effort. Not that my beautiful new floors in my home won’t be. I’m excited to feel as though I can invite someone into my home and not be embarrassed about how it looks. And honestly, this whole process is giving me time to organize and clean literally the whole house which truly is a blessing as well.

I was thinking about how this applied to our lives as Christians. We have so many ugly parts to us. We sin on a daily basis even after we are saved. And often we beat ourselves up about it. Our inner dialogue is one that tells us we are ugly and unworthy. We are ashamed to let people into our lives just as I was to let people into my home. But God is doing something beautiful in each of our lives if we are spending any time with Him. I work with a ministry called Million Praying Moms. https://www.millionprayingmoms.com We have a mission to help every mother learn to pray God’s Word over their children every day. That then overflows into praying His Word over your husband, extended family, church family, and every part of your life. And the other thing it does, is have you really be in the Word more, looking for those verses you can pray for people. Praying God’s Word is so powerful.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 is our main verse we use in our ministry. God’s Word is alive! It changes us! And it changes those we love and pray for. So for all the ugly things you see when you look in the mirror, maybe begin to try to change that perspective. Start by reading God’s Word looking for ways you can pray back to Him how you are feeling. The Psalms are a great place to do that. David openly told the Lord often how He felt. He was not shy about being in despair. But don’t stop there, look for who God says you are to Him. Identify the lies screaming in your head, the ugly mess that is your thought life, and begin to find verses that tell you that you are a treasure to God.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:14

Just like my house is transforming, and it has taken a long time and a lot of work, the payoff is great; God will transform you if you are willing to go to Him in prayer and seek His face in the Word. He is willing to break through the dirt in your life and show what is beautiful that was hidden beneath it.