Today I had a little time on my hands and a few things to process… a few changes to consider. I decided to do something a little mindless but useful. We moved into a new house a few months ago. Its only nine years old and in very good shape, but the shutters on the outside of the house had never been maintained. What was once a deep redwood finish had become faded and gray from the sun and wind. So I saw something on the internet about restoring faded shutter with Armor All Tire Foam and thought I might give it a shot. I’m not much of a handyman as my wife would clearly testify.
So I went to the store and picked up some of this stuff, got a few rags and went out with the ladder to give it a go. It was rather a simple process: Spray on the foamy stuff and wipe it into the shutter. Step back and be prepared to be amazed. Well it worked great and I did all the shutters in a short time. The Armor All cleaned, penetrated deeply to restore the original deep redwood color, and left a protective covering on the shutters.
When I was doing the last section of the last shutter on my house, I heard the Lord say, “Son, I am your Armor All. I want to clean you and rid your heart of disappointment and fear. I want to restore your original colors and protect you from the withering sun and winds of spiritual opposition. I want to be your all in all and your Armor All. I want to clothe you with My presence, refresh you with My Spirit. I want you to shine with My presence.”
Now as I put myself under His hands the Lord brought to mind the familiar Scripture but with new significance.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:13-17
Now my heart cried out to God with part of the Lutheran liturgy that came to mind. I sang it many times as a little boy.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Ps 51:13-17
I sang it once again out loud and felt the Father’s pleasure and His presence.
My prayer: Father, be my Armor All. Penetrate deeply into my heart to see if there is something to be removed that leaves me faded. Restore the joy of thy salvation and clothe me with Your presence and Your Spirit. You are my all in all and my Armor All. Amen!
Show and tell God 
Great reflections. Thank you Thom. Some years ago, I was driving in I-78, and I saw an old farmhouse from the road where a backhoe was digging next to the house. In order to protect the windows from any damage, the homeowners had closed the shutters. My reflexive thought was “Wow, that’s interesting. Shutters that close.”Then the sheepish realization washed over me. Shutters are named that because they were originally designed to shut, not simply to be decorations. It made me think about how often I relate to aspects of my faith in name only, not truly embracing the full potential of how faith is designed to function. Hence, the deep spiritual question, “Do your shutters shut?” Love you, my friend.
Thank you for listening to the Father. I was deeply touched by reading that.
Hey TG, Amazing post!! Deeply encouraged by that and praying that you and Carol are deeply blessed and favoured this week.
Kudos on the shutter job! Is He not amazing…an ordinary task, a seeking heart, right where you are, shazam!!!! SOOOO thankful! Oh how He loves you and me…