An Old Farmhouse

My husband and I live in an old farmhouse built in 1940. If you do the math - That makes our house 86 years old!

BUT I love our old house.

Big pin oak trees surround it. There’s an old-timey front porch with a wooden swing.

To me it has character, history, and plenty of stories.

BUT-  there is always a project.

And don’t think Joanna Gaines kind of projects. Our projects are usually more like fixing a water leak, repairing something that broke, or slowly updating one room at a time.

Over the long Labor Day weekend, we decided it was finally time to paint what was once my boys’ bedroom and is now our guest room.

Honestly, at first glance, the room didn’t look that bad.

When the boys moved out, I rearranged the furniture, hung pictures over some of the rough spots, and basically camouflaged the imperfections.

I remember thinking, “One day we’ll take care of all this.”

Well, “one day” was last Labor Day weekend.

Once we moved the furniture and started preparing the walls, we began noticing things.

A lot of things.

There was one wall that had always looked a little rough and slightly “off.” Then I remembered why.

Years ago, younger brother Drew pushed older brother David into that wall—and David literally busted the sheetrock!

There had once been a human-sized imprint about an half an inch deep in the wall. The boys had been given the “you made the mess, you help fix the mess” lesson, so a repair had been attempted. But even years later, you could still tell something had happened there.

And the more closely we looked, the more imperfections we found.

Nail holes.

Chipped paint.

Rough patches.

Places that needed sanding.

Places that needed putty.

We even discovered a wasp nest being built between the glass panels of one of the windows!

Then my husband brought in a big industrial light.

And that changed everything.

As he moved that bright light across the walls, suddenly we could see what we had missed before. The light revealed what was really there.

The light revealed what was really there.

And I couldn’t help but think about my own life.

Sometimes, from a distance, we might convince ourselves that things look ok.

I can rearrange a few things.

Cover an ugly spot.

Hang something pretty over an imperfection.

I can even convince myself, “That’s not really so bad.”

But then comes the Light.

Jesus said:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”— John 8:12

When I allow the light of Christ to shine into my heart, He reveals things I may have overlooked—or maybe even tried to camouflage.

An attitude that needs to be sanded away.

A wrong that needs repairing.

Thoughts that need washing.

Actions that need changing.

Places in my heart where I’ve simply hung something pretty over the damage and said, “I’ll deal with that one day.”

Here’s what I want you to remember today:

The Light doesn't reveal our imperfections to shame us. The Light reveals them so Christ can transform us.

That old room needed more than a pretty picture covering the rough spots.

It needed the holes filled.

The rough places sanded.

The walls washed.

And finally, a fresh coat of paint.

HERE IS THE DEAL- Often our hearts need the same thing.

David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”— Psalm 139:23–24

That’s such a brave prayer.

Lord, turn on the Light.

Show me what I’ve covered up.

Show me what needs repair.

Show me what needs to change.

And then, Lord, do Your transforming work in me.

Because sometimes we don't realize how much our hearts need a little attention -

until we step into the Light.