Saturday, August 25, 2012

Before and After: How Vision Transforms Reality


One of the first things people comment about when they come to our new place is how settled we look. We are quick to explain that we've done very little. Six or seven years ago, someone had a vision to transform this home from shambles into the lovely home it is today. Here are the "before" and "after" pictures to show you what we mean.

It's unbelievable, really, to look at the "before" state of our home and see it now. We've learned from neighbors that before it's renovation homeless people used it as their squat. And before that, a family lived in it who struggled with serious health issues. A friend I know would come with others from her church to help them and pray with them. 

Then someone came along and bought it for a song--someone with a vision. They saw in our home something worth redeeming. They saw the potential; the good lines, the spacious size, the beautiful woodwork and the hundred-year-old walnut trees on the lot. They saw the future in their vision--when present reality would be transformed into a new reality.

Transformation is what creates the "before" and "after." But before transformation is the vision--the ability to "see" what could be.

As I look back on these last several years, our present reality is also the result of vision. I began to imagine a different life, a "home-centered" life where we would live and work and extend hospitality. I could feel the draw in me to a new place and a new lifestyle. The more I began to write and talk about it, the clearer the vision became--though still only a dream. Now we are living it; realizing our dream with each new day and the myriad experiences that follow.

I sense that many people have a dream or vision stirring in their hearts. After all, we've been created in the image of the Consummate Envision-er. When we "see" our world with God's eyes, we see his kingdom come to earth. We see potential, redemption, transformation--what "could" be. 

So, what vision is stirring in your heart? Where do you "see" what could be? How will you take the next step to realize your dream?







  

18 comments:

Zoe-Mai Tatar said...

Bryan and I have been talking about what God is calling us to do together. We talk about traveling and how much we enjoy finding new areas that normally would be missed because the town is to run down or the city is too big. We talk about who we give too to help out this month. We talk about single parents, widows,homeless people, the unemployed, the sick, and how hard it must be for them. We give as much as we can with our budget...we both have the gift of giving and we love helping people. So our Big Dream is: For us to travel in a Coach from town to village to city and stay a few days and see who is in need... and provide that need for them. It would be the best of both worlds. Our enjoyment of visiting towns, villages, and city, and Serving God through our gift of giving.

Zoe-Mai Tatar said...

Bryan and I have been talking about what God is calling us to do together. We talk about traveling and how much we enjoy finding new areas that normally would be missed because the town is to run down or the city is too big. We talk about who we give too to help out this month. We talk about single parents, widows,homeless people, the unemployed, the sick, and how hard it must be for them. We give as much as we can with our budget...we both have the gift of giving and we love helping people. So our Big Dream is: For us to travel in a Coach from town to village to city and stay a few days and see who is in need... and provide that need for them. It would be the best of both worlds. Our enjoyment of visiting towns, villages, and city, and Serving God through our gift of giving.

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