Several years ago I purchased an tatty old My Child Doll on eBay. She had a broken eye, a stained body, knotty hair and a scuffed face. The photos here are very low quality, but I think you get the idea. She wasn’t in very good shape. 

So I took to restoring her. I soaked her in stain remover for over 24 hours. I popped her in a pillowcase and sent her through the wash. I spent hours and half a bottle of conditioner de-tangling her hair. I cut the old skin off her nose and replaced it. I restitched some of her joints. Then I worked on her eye, which involved major doll surgery and I’ll spare you the gruesome details!

But once she was cleaned and fixed up, I restyled her hair to what she would have worn when she’d been brand new in an 80’s toy shop (yes, she’s an Aussie Crimp for those in the know). I ordered her some custom made shoes and sewed her a special dress. She’s been restored.

And I’ve been thinking: this process of restoration reflects a lot about the heart of God. Restoration isn’t about scrapping something broken, but about finding inherent value. My doll had value, even in her broken state. She had, and other collectors would understand what I mean when I say this, personality. I didn’t receive her in the mail and automatically attempt to morph her into a Cabbage Patch doll. And neither does God, when invites us into relationship with himself, try to change us into a creature we are not. We are valued for who we are, for who he designed us to be.

But sometimes life treats us harshly. We accumulate the filth of false beliefs; about ourselves and about God. Still, he welcomes us, values us, treasures us – even in our brokenness. And then, through faith in Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit (that’s some supernatural stain remover!), we are transformed. Gradually. Gradually. Sometimes this involves a nip here, or a tuck there. Sometimes it’s long hard spiritual surgery. But it’s always based on God’s tender, committed love. He knows what we were meant to be. He knows the process of restoring what sin (our own and the consequences of other’s) has robbed from us. But he’s committed to that journey with us in a way we can never fully grasp, understand or imagine. And this is our hope as children of God. The hope of restoration.

Penny