Robert & Kay Camenisch encouraging and equipping relationships

It’s Worth It All

For the last month, my life has revolved around home repair and remodeling. Normal duties have gotten cursory attention because of the chaos and distractions caused by remodeling. One day, meal preparation was so distracted that I forgot to season any of the dishes I prepared.

One of our projects was to replace the floor in the bathroom. We knew we had to pull up the old, lay down a backer board and put tile on top of that. We didn’t know that the old floor had twice as many nails in it as necessary, making it very difficult to pull out. Neither did we know that we would find rotting wood that required us to go even deeper.

We spent over a week preparing that floor for its transformation. (One 12-inch long, inch-and-a-half board had 13 nails in it.) As we labored, I realized how much upgrading a hundred-year-old house can be like making changes in our lives. I couldn’t help but compare it to a difficult time for me.

I went through a period when I was impatient and easily angered at Robert. I couldn’t seem to help myself and asked the Lord to fix me. The process was much like the bathroom. It consumed my life. Even when completing tasks at hand, my mind was distracted by chaos and upheaval. I wanted to avoid the pain and restore order and normalcy.

While knowing change needed to be made in my heart, that the old man would need to be removed. I didn’t know there was rot that needed to be dug out from deep within. Nor did I realize how painful and prolonged the process would be. I became hopeless, depressed, confused about who I was. It seemed God had deserted me.

But it was me that had deserted Him. God was faithful. He was working on me the whole time. He not only stayed beside me, He didn’t quit until His light revealed the rotten spots in my heart—the judgment and bitterness that were destroying my relationships.

He didn’t just cover them up and put a new tile on top, so I would look fixed. He went deep and dealt with the rottenness that was eating me up.

It was the most difficult time of my life. It hurt and I thought it would never end, but I’m grateful for every minute of it, because I love the transformation.

Not only did I get rid of judgment and bitterness, but I gained the ability to see when I’m tempted to judge or get bitter today. I don’t want to go down that path again, so I’m quick to work through those attitudes. Consequently, it’s easier to walk in righteousness in those areas. As a result, my relationships with God and others are sweeter and richer.

Because of that time, I am also more confident of God’s love for me. He really does work all things together for good—even when it feels like our very insides are being torn out.

We’re delighted with the new tile floor. We wish we had done it long ago. When we get a fresh coat of white paint on the cabinets and install the new window, it will look like a new room!

The same is true with transformation in our lives. The end product is always good if we hang in there and cooperate with Him until it is finished. It’s worth it all.