I spent several hours today with my wife and son at Home Depot where we were working with a designer to plan a kitchen remodel. For those that have gone through such an adventure, you know there is a lot to it – selecting cabinets, hardware, flooring, counters, appliances, lighting, styles, quality, contractors, bell and whistles, all while trying to stay within a predetermined budget.
Soon the selections will be complete and the actual remodeling work will get underway. In our case, that will involve tearing out a wall, replacing a ceiling and taking out a window in addition to everything else that is happening. It will be messy and will probably take longer than we imagine or wish.
But after it is all over, the pain of the process will soon be a distant memory as we enjoy the finished product.
I can’t help but reflect on the similarities when it comes to remodeling our lives. Assuming none of us is perfect, we all need a makeover to some extent – not an outward physical one, but an internal one.
It’s good to reflect on what it takes to go from where we are to where we think we should be. Do we need to change a little or a lot? Are we willing to plan a course of action to make those changes? Will we endure the messy process of making change, the inconveniences, the hassles, in order to reach the final goal of a very different place when all is said and done?
Involving others along the way is helpful – people who know from their own experience and can help us through the maze, people who can hold us accountable to finish what we start, and others who know us well and jump in as friends or family because that’s what loving friends and family do.
I don’t know if you need a little or a lot of inward remodeling in your life, but I hope you have some exciting plans ahead or that you’re already in the messy process of change. It will be worth it in the end.
Leap year lesson #15 is Remodeling is messy, but worth it.
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