Restored to Glory

Cast Down...

To say my husband likes classic muscle cars would be an understatement. He is a Mopar man! Before I met him I couldn’t tell a Mopar from a moped, but as he pursued his passion for the muscle cars of the past, I began to take notice.
He talks all the time about the yellow ‘72 Challenger he had in the military. He had been working to restore it, but had to sell it and watch a dream of his drive off and leave him in the dust. One of my prayers is to someday present him with a fully restored 1972 Hardtop 340 V8 Rallye Challenger in Top Banana with black racing stripes.
One of our favorite pass times is watching the Barrett Jackson Auto auction, Overhaulin’ with Chip Foos and Pass Time. When we are out on the road, every time he hears that distinctive growl of a Hemi, his head whips around until he can catch a glimpse of whatever vehicle is emitting that chest thumping rumble.
One year for Christmas, I got him a gift subscription to Muscle Car magazine. I couldn’t help but smile every time a new issue arrived and I would see my husband transform before my eyes into a child with a toy catalog. Just the other day, I was flipping through the pages of the latest issue when the article on Barn Finds caught my attention.
There on page after page, were images of old cars; abandoned and forgotten, their paint eroded to the metal by the punishing rains and the advancement of time. Each one had a silent story to tell as I looked at the chassis that were rusted and dusty. It was in that moment, I had to admit that my husband’s passion for the old muscle cars of the past had rubbed off on me and I didn’t realize why, until now.
They are a testimony to their creator. Each one had been built with such a solid frame that no matter what had been thrown at them, they were still there. They were cast down, but not out. They were abandoned, but recently found and it will only take a careful hand and some TLC to restore these cars back to their former glory.
I think I related to that as a Believer, because in the past few years I have gone through some times that have stripped me bare and pushed me to a place where I have felt forgotten. But, because my foundation is in Christ and I serve a God who can restore what the locust has eaten, I know that with the loving careful hand of my Creator, I too will be restored to my former glory, without spot, wrinkle…or rust!
2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. The Message
Psalm 71:22-20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again. NLT
1 Peter 5:10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. NLT

But NOT destroyed!