Restoration

Jeremiah 30:17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds declares the LORD.

1 Peter 5:10-11 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Jeremiah 30:17 will forever be close to my heart. God gave me this verse as I read my bible after I was injured last year in an accident that should have either killed me or left me with a severe brain injury. It was His sweet promise to me of His hand in my protection, healing, and restoration. God consistently used Scripture to give me what I needed at exactly the time I needed it. And it happened when I was broken, scared, vulnerable and desperate for comfort to know that everything was going to be okay. It was the beginning of God's consistent demonstration of His love to me through His Word as I began to seek Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. 

God not only restored my mind and body, He restored my soul. I recently was walking with a friend, talking about God's undeniable Presence in my life this past year and a half.  My friend saw me the day after the accident and has walked through life with me the following year and a half. She watched God heal me and restore me. My friend revealed a great point about restoration during our walk that I wanted to share...

When we restore something, like an old table, we have to scrape off layers of prior "stuff" that has accumulated throughout the years. Then, we can carefully restore the table and make it beautiful. But when we restore the table, it is never exactly the same way it was... it is better, changed and has a new life. God does the same thing for us when He restores us. He scrapes off the old layers of our "stuff" that hinder our life with Him. God makes us better. God makes us whole and new. He restores our soul. 

Dear Heavenly Father,  thank You for restoring me. Thank You for giving me my life with my husband and children. For that, I will always be so very grateful. I give You my life. I pray that You use me to help restore people You put in my path. Thank You for not only restoring my health, but restoring my soul and making me new.  Amen.