And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10

Okay, so I keep saying to myself: “No more photos of the house until it is actually finished.” But then we go over to Saint Patrick Street and another new detail has happened, and it makes me think of something I want to share and there it is, another post in the series.

This time it was Sunday afternoon. After checking out the new chandelier in the dining room Rebekah and I walked around the back, and what we realized was not so much that it is almost done (even basic landscaping, of course, will be a summer-long project after we move in) but how far we have come. Let me illustrate with these three images from last May (2024), September and then yesterday, March 9.

It is stunning. You may want to click on the first image and then scroll through.

Now look back at the scripture from First Peter. This house may have “suffered for a little while,” but now there is restoration and support and strength, and it will be established!

This is a great image to have in mind when we think of our own struggles, our need for restoration and the promise that God – the God of all grace – has called us to his eternal glory in Jesus!

What does this look like? Well if I were a house it may look something like this. Still myself; still recognizable; always a work in progress. But at the same time seeing so much of what is possible if only I work in partnership with the Creator and Redeemer – the Architect and the Carpenter.

I believe that in becoming more like Jesus we also become more like ourselves… – DEREK

All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18