restoring

There's a brilliant verse in the Bible which promises that God "will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

I remember a long time back, when I first dared to use a highlighter on my Bible, that was one of the first verses to be made to stand out.

God will restore you.

What a wonderful thing to be true about someone!

I remember, too, reading another verse and thinking I quite fancied that as the words to go on my tombstone - "you will be called repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings."

A restorer.

Today's been a day when it's that that I've been reminded of, time and time again.

I got a surprise visit half way through this morning when Jennie (of wedding-organising/sausages-stress-me fame) popped in.

There were one or two different things she had to collect. And she just wanted to say thank you again. The wedding on Saturday was absolutely terrific. They all loved it. And the small little ways we were able to help were really just a privilege.

She'd dropped in a card to thank us for all our help. And on the card she'd mentioned the comment that one of the guests had made - that we'd restored her faith in humanity.

I think the wedding was that sort of occasion. For all the people there on the day, it did them good. Restored something in them. The spirit of praise at the service they held in the church. The well-kept, spacious grounds. The simple, but super food. The halls decked out so beautifully. The chat. The laughs. Just about everything.

And our willingness to help and make it a day like that was like the icing on the cake for some, I guess. Restoring something in them.

A bit later on, over lunch, I was along at the school. Mainly to meet with Chris, the teacher there with whom I run the Scripture Union group.

We were planning the time and the day - we'll need to change from a Monday to a Thursday this year: and also trying to figure out when we should start, and the material that we'd use. That sort of thing. And a brief time of prayer together before I had to leave.

I'd got delayed, though, on arrival at the school. There's a teacher there who's had bad news, health-wise. By some kind providence of God I met her in the corridor and so I stopped to chat.

She's not that old at all, so the news with which she's had to come to terms has hit her like a bombshell, I'm quite sure.

And it struck me again that for her as well there's a pressing need for God to do his restoring thing. Healing her very body. Restoring her health.

I promised her that we'd pray for her - and pray for that restoring grace of God.

Mid-afternoon I was meeting with someone else. One of the ladies who's running The Guild this year. She was in to chat about the opening night which will be in a couple of weeks.

Their theme this year - He restores my soul.

Same sort of thing again. God and his restoring work. This time on the soul.

Those bits of us that can't be seen and can't be reached by any ordinary medicine. But which are pretty important in terms of making us tick.

God will restore you.

And you will be called repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings.

You could do worse for an epitaph!