For ten years, I lived in a cozy town house filled with lots of love and laughter.  My favorite activity was curling up on the couch in the tiny living room and grazing on kettle corn while watching endless hours of the Food Network.  Then, I met him — the guy with the big heart who swept me off my feet.  A year later, we got engaged, and I packed up my cozy little life and moved north to be a wife.

Around that same time, one of my former students was getting hitched, and she needed a place.  So, my quaint little town house became hers — at least temporarily.

This past month, my friend and her husband made a big move north themselves — back to his home state.  So, now that town house full of memories will soon have a For Sale sign posted out front.

My June calendar was packed to the rim with activity, so I bribed another dear friend to go check the place out, assess the damage two big dogs had wreaked on one small town house, and do some clean up.  She needed the extra cash, and she is a meticulous OCD neat freak — a quality that I lack.

Tuesday afternoon, we met for her “assessment.”  I received several pages of very thorough notes — dirty grout, smudged paint, smelly carpets, damaged blinds, etc.  She noted many things, but she didn’t say a thing about the kitchen cabinets.   She hadn’t noticed the imperfections I thought were glaring and obvious.

That night, we met with realtor at the home.  I got there a bit early and walked around noting things to do on a note pad — adding to the already lengthy list I’d received — replace baseboards, change out bathroom fixtures, repair back fence, install new fire alarm.

But, that all changed about twenty minutes later when I met Debbie — my tiny dynamo realtor with the eye for what sells.  “Don’t do a thing,” she told my husband.  Pull the carpets.  Touch up a little here and there.  The  new owners will want to put their stamp on the place anyway.

I looked around the place and noticed flaws.  Firecracker Debbie viewed potential — the updated kitchen appliances, the hurricane shutters, the tiled back patio.    Her suggested list price made my eye brows raise.  Really?  You think it’s worth that?

So now, it’s 24 hours later.  I am reading in I Peter 2, and these words jump out at me:

So clean house!

Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense,

envy and hurtful talk…

Present yourselves as building stones

for the construction of a sanctuary

vibrant with life…

Friends, this world is not your home,

so don’t make yourselves cozy in it.

Don’t indulge your ego

at the expense of your soul.

(vs. 1, 5, 11 – MSG)

God has an eye for my heart’s home.  He sees potential in me where I see flaws.  I am a living stone — solid material the Master Builder is using to design His kingdom.  I need to clean out the cob webs of hate and hypocrisy in my heart, but I don’t need to display OCD perfection for Him to create a beautiful sanctuary out of my life.

Q4U:  Do you tend to “over inspect” your life?  Where do you think God sees potential in you?

My one-word focus for the year is “fruitilicious.”  Find out what that means here.

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Joining like-minded sisters today at  Hear it on Sunday: Use it on Monday, Faith-Filled Friday, Thought-Provoking Thursday, Tell His Story, Playdates with God and Soli Deo Gloria.

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Photo Credit:  Kostya Kisleyko