My story began about two years ago, when my son Paul was looking for a Camaro. He had been saving his money ever since he was just a little kid. We had been watching the ads for quite a while, when he spotted a '67 RS for what seemed like a good price. When we went to look at it, we saw why it was priced so reasonably. He decided that he did not want to have a car that would tie up that much money, and ultimately would be too nice to drive on a daily basis. So I got the "great idea" that if he did not want to buy it, I would! I drove it home on a December night in Northeast Washington (no global warming here!) and found out it had no heater. The next day, after I thawed out, my family could hardly believe that I had paid money for it! Such began the relationship that prompted me to write this story as I pondered what God does for me every day.

What my family saw only as a rusted piece of junk, I saw in my mind as the perfected object it was to become, just as my heavenly Father does with a sinner such as myself. Satan is there accusing God of wasting the precious sacrifice of the blood of his Son on the cross at Calvary, to purchase eternal life for a wretched piece of humanity such as myself. But God just stares lovingly at what He sees as an object of great beauty..Me!

Those of you who have attempted a restoration project can appreciate how this happens. First, there must be a vision. I imagined exactly what my project was going to look like when it was finished.that is, just like it looked when it was perfect from it's maker! Of course, God has the advantage of knowing what the original perfect man looked like, inside and out. I, on the other hand, had to spend many hours pouring over various catalogs, manuals, photos, and other materials, to know what my finished product should end up being.

The next step would involve the willingness of the parties involved. My commitment had already been made, with the outlay of my hard earned cash, and the realization that nobody who saw it in broad daylight would take it off my hands! But would the car cooperate? I was going to have to do some major stripping away of all the rottenness that was concealed by the hastily applied veneer of Bondo. Of course God has already shown His commitment to the resto He has planned, by paying the ultimate price, the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Would I be willing to let Him strip away all the ugliness that lay under the skin of what appears to be a "respectable member of society?"

Many times the car would seem to be resisting my efforts by causing me personal injury, or not cooperating. How many times a day do I do the same thing Lord? When something would not turn out, I would have to patiently go back and start over. Does God ever feel frustration with our stubbornness? I am so glad He is ever patient! Day by day, through no effort of it's own, by merely allowing the craftsman to have his way, the car is becoming what it was originally intended it to be.

Yet, when I envision it in my head at night (a terrible habit that results in precious little sleep!) it always looks perfect! This is because it IS perfect, at every step of the process, just not quite complete. As I behold the results of my efforts, I can't help but feeling a certain amount of pride in the labor of love before me. I can well imagine the Father and Son standing together in the "mother of all restoration shops" just admiring the fruits of their labors on the behalf of the redeemed.

What a "collection" we will be someday! One that He will be proud to show off to the rest of the universe. The bible says that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, the wonders in store for the redeemed" but the imagining is sure fun! The creative power that He has given us is but a taste of what we can expect, and I for one, can't wait for Him to come so I can get going on my first project!

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