Rebuilding the Real You

The last Sunday of August we will conclude our summer quarter in Sunday School. I have really enjoyed the book my class has studied this summer--Rebuilding the Real You by Jack Hayford.

This study looks closely at the way the Holy Spirit works in our lives. Hayford uses the example of the story of Nehemiah and the work he spearheaded to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as a comparison to the way God works in our lives to rebuild us from the pieces left broken by disappointments, failures, challenges, addictions, problems, etc.

I don't remember how many times I have read all or part of this book, but each time I do I always get a lot out of it.

Two weeks ago was my son Will's 12th birthday (on a Sunday during this quarter). Naturally, I thought back to the time of his birth and his early months. Will had a rough start in life as he was born seven weeks early. I had a rough time as well. The first 18 hours after Will was born, I was placed flat on my back in a dark room because I was very close to going into seizures. They told me not to think about my new baby (so hard not to!); I couldn't eat or drink; I couldn't watch TV, read or listen to music because that kind of thing could stimulate seizure activity. I couldn't have visitors, except they did allow Tim to come in occasionally to see how I was doing with strick orders not to talk much at all.

Finally, the crisis passed and I was out of danger.

I remember how tiny Will was! He only weighed 3 lbs. 14 oz.! I remember thinking that is quite a bit less than a sack of sugar!

I was in the hospital for over a week. The hardest thing was leaving Will behind in the neonatal intensive care unit once I was discharged. He couldn't come home until he weighed about 4 1/2 pounds.

As he grew, he got to where he could sit up as I bathed him. I remember one day when I was drying him off after a bath. As my hand supported him, it looked so gigantic compared to Will's back! The thought hit me, that must be how God's hand would look touching my back--so huge! I liked the thought of that! It reminded me how well God has things in hand. As much as I love and adore Will, God's perfect love for His creation is even bigger than the greatest love I can imagine! That reminds me how much He cares for us.

It was great timing because the chapter we covered on Will's birthday was titled: Knowing How God Feels About You. What a wonderful reminder of how much God loves us!

This study emphasized that the first step must be accepting Christ as our Savior. Then, God works in our lives, bringing us to wholeness, as we allow Him to rebuild us. Some people are more broken than others, depending on what they've faced in life. The study helps us all to understand more fully how the Holy Spirit works to restore believers from brokenness.

This has been an important topic to me for a number of years. First, several years ago God showed me the brokenness in my life and invited me to walk a path of healing and restoration. Then, over time, God has given me opportunities to reach out to others who needed this kind of healing in their own lives.

Over the years, as I have walked this path toward wholeness (I'm still a work in progress), I have seen God do many mighty and powerful things both in my life and in the lives of others. I have been utterly amazed at what God can do to rebuild and restore lives to the abundance He has available for each of us!