being made new

In my experience, one of the things that God does best is transformation.  I have seen it over and over in my heart, in others, in Scripture…

Night to day. 

Darkness to light. 

Death to life. 

Evil to good. 

God has a unique and beautiful way of making things new.  This is exciting for many reasons… I mean, I know that I want to be made new, I want to see other people made new, I want the world to be made new.

This is also good news because, if you had not heard, there was a flood in Thailand.  More than a third of the country, including Grapevine, was underwater for weeks.  The water has receded and we are back at Grapevine now, but mostly everything inside of Grapevine was damaged beyond use.  Here are just a few photos….

 

My first thoughts upon returning... “Lord, where do we start?  And where do we go from here?”

It is not only the furniture at Grapevine that was damaged.  The whole semester has been shaken up and the Grapevine staff has decreased in size.  Annual events like the Halloween party, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties, and the retreat may not happen now.   Thammasat students are beginning their semester two months later than normal and will likely be taking Saturday classes to make up for lost time.  Grapevine events will wind up looking just as different as Grapevine itself.

Whether we asked for it or not, Grapevine is being made new.

And after the initial shock of it, it is quite exciting that we have front row seats to watch God do what he does best:  transform.  I am encouraged when I remember that God already has a plan for what he is going to do with us and in us this semester.  God is able to completely redeem and revive what is damaged and use it for his purpose and his glory.