Feeling like your soul could use a visit to 'The Repair Shop?' Here's Sarah Rock-Evans, Ordinand at St George & St Paul, Tiverton with our latest blog post.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Luke 2:10
In recent months my husband Martin and I have started watching The Repair Shop, a television programme about the restoration of treasured possessions. Members of the public are invited on to the show to bring an item of great sentimental value which has become damaged or degraded over time, and experts from a whole array of trades and techniques then lovingly restore them to their former glory. A great variety of objects have been brought forward, from furniture to notebooks, children’s shoes to dolls and even an old ironing board!
Two things strike me about this programme; both the love that people have for these items and the joy they experience when their restored possession is returned to them. These items frequently hold precious memories of family members who have died, or of their childhood. When the repaired object is unveiled there is often a sharp intake of breath, a sense of surprise and joy that it could be brought back to life in such a meaningful way.
The Repair Shop often causes me to reflect on how God sees us, and how He longs to restore us and all creation. He sees us, damaged by life in a broken world, yet He knows who He created us to be, and He loves us completely. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The Gospel is Good News because it is God’s invitation to His repair shop; it is the promise to every person that, through Jesus, our Heavenly Father has made a way for us to be restored. But just as participants on The Repair Shop have to request that their damaged goods are fixed, so we have to ask the Lord to forgive and restore us. That process of course continues throughout our lives, coming to completion when Jesus returns, but it begins now!
Many of us feel in need of a little restoration on one level or another; my hope and prayer is that you will find pockets of space and time this Advent season to receive a fresh sense of God’s grace and mercy for you as you remember how Jesus came to be with us, bringing light into our darkness.
Blessings
Sarah (Ordinand)