Fixer Upper

“Fixer Upper”: Most of us have seen the show, or at least heard about it. Chip and Joanna Gaines gained popularity through their TV show that portrayed them helping different couples look for a fixer upper home within their budget and then showing the process of transforming it into a beautiful place they could call home. Such a great concept!

And, while it seems fun to take an old piece of junk and transform it into something beautiful, the reality is that it’s a lot of work! It’s never easy and not a whole lot of fun. Many hours of sweat and tears go into the project. There’s frustration. There’s discouragement. There are unforeseen obstacles. However, the reward of completing it is so great that people believe that it was all worth it. Plus, who doesn’t want total bragging rights of showing off what all you did with your own two hands?!

Fixing up an old, neglected house or an antique piece of furniture certainly has its rewards. And, doing the work is a great hobby to develop. I have found it to be very therapeutic and rewarding. However, sometimes, we start to approach people the same way as an old object. We enter into a relationship with someone with the intention of ‘fixing’ them. We don’t like everything that encompasses that person, so we decide that we will ‘put up with it’ until we are able to change it. But the sad reality is that people aren’t like houses or furniture. People cannot be treated like fixer uppers.

Sure, we are all a work in progress. God’s Word tells us in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God never stops working in us and through us as long as we are alive on this planet. But, the key word here is that we are God’s workmanship. We are not anyone else’s project to fix. Nor, is anyone else our project to fix. Only God can do the work in us that needs to be done. Absolutely, He sends people into our lives to lift us up to Him in prayer and to speak the truth of His word to us. After all, we are His body. And like He says in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” 1Corinthians 12:25-26 says, “This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” We need each other. We need the love and support of our big God family. But, we need to step out of the way and let God do the fixing. We can hand Him the tools. We can support Him by allowing him to use us in the lives of others. But, we just can’t be the fixers!

From now on, any time a new person comes into your life, ask God to show you what role you will play in their life. He doesn’t orchestrate friendships by accident. He puts every single person in the exact place that they need to be at the exact moment in time that they need to be there for His divine purpose. He has a plan and there are no accidents! “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

  

So, who has He put in your life? Are you seeking Him for guidance in supporting that person? Or, are you creating a Fixer Upper?