Repentance - remodeling a Latter-day Saint

[Traveler]

Every once in a while, there seems to me to be a connection between things I thought completely unrelated.  Just a little background.   I am not a visionary person – I am more of a, have to see to believe person.  My wife has wanted to remodel our home for a long time – I could not see the point.  The house is a wonderful home.  The tile in the entry, front hall and kitchen my wife and I put down ourselves decades ago.  The cabinets in the kitchen we stained ourselves and added soft close hardware.  I like our house – it is a good house that our children were raised in and our youngest was born after we moved in.  We have been here 35+ years making upgrades.  But the wife wanted changes.

We are most of the way through this remodel.  I am starting to realize that remodeling a good home is a lot like a Latter-day Saint repenting.  Prior to starting all this the wife has been trying to convince me that a remodel would be a good thing.  It did not make a lot of sense to me, especially considering all the blood, sweat and tears shed doing all the little things we have done over the years.   She was talking about tearing down all the things we had worked so hard to do together.  She has been watching HGTV for years and now is telling me that we can open things up and let in a lot of light.  Then again things are not so important to me – so if it is important to her – let the remodeling begin.

By now, readers are likely wondering, how is remodeling like an LDS repentance?  We are told all the time that we should repent.  Why?  We work at our callings, we attend the temple, we volunteer for service, we don’t just try to be good neighbors – we love our neighborhood.  We don’t break the word of wisdom – I don’t even drink caffeine soda drinks.  We work out – we have repented of all the mistakes made raising our children – What’s left to repent of?  Ya, this is how I felt about remodeling our home.  It is okay the way it is – not just okay, it is a great home – I could live here till I die.  My wife has different ideas.

The first thing we had to do was get permits from the city.  They require that we hire an architect and a structural engineer to make sure everything is according to code. What happens next is to tear down everything on our main level – including a few walls.  When load bearing walls come down special beams have to be put into place and supports built in all the way down to the basement foundation.

Sometimes good LDS (Christians) have to be advised about improving through repentance.  Sometimes such advice is taken badly and those being advised call such reminders – shaming.  And anytime repentance takes place – we have to remove all the things getting in the way of repenting correctly.  Tearing things apart tends to make life difficult – even a bit miserable.  One example is that we only had one complete bathroom in the house, and it was in the basement as far from the bedrooms as possible.  There were things that still worked in some bathrooms, but a toilet did not work in one, sinks in another and the drains for everything but the bathtub (that no one ever uses) in another.  The kitchen and laundry are trashed but we have a makeshift in the basement.  Furniture is all moved to the garage or spare bedrooms (we do not know where anything is).  Living becomes somewhat inconvenient – just like repenting.

As we took down walls, we discovered lots of problems we did not know about – like some serious electrical problems and a leaky sewer pipe cultivating mold.  Just like repentance – once we get into it, we discover things that we did not realize needed fixing.  Nothing turns out to be as easy, cost or take the time we planned.

We just finished the primer coat of paint, and I am beginning to see things come together.  The wall of windows let in an amazing amount of light and the view of the mountains is worth it.  There is so much more light.  The wife removed the back staircase.  I kind of miss it, it is inconvenient to go all the way around to the front stairs but then be back stairs were not code.  Same with repentance – once we begin to see what is possible with change – we realize what a good thing it is.

Mostly we think of repenting to get rid of sins.  Martin Luther’s idea of repentance was to turn around and obtain a new point of view.  I am beginning to realize that we do not have to sin to repent.  We can repent just to make things better and get closer to G-d.

 

The Traveler

[laronius]

I think that is an apt analogy. It reminded me of Hugh B Brown's currant bush analogy. No matter how good we think we are or even truly are God wants something better for us. He knows our true potential and what it takes to get there.

[NeuroTypical]

I suppose I can understand why folks who have led mostly sinless lives might see things like this.
 

For those of us who have more than a passing acquaintance with the horrible things that Lucifer can instill in our hearts and souls, it’s not an especially useful illustration of how repentance looks.
 

Here is a painting called "Sanctification", done by Amy Finder in 1973.  

I'm not sure if these are the artists words or the church's words, but:
"Only through the marvelous Atonement of the Savior is it possible to strip away layers of pain, sorrow, and guilt—sin’s treacherous landscape. When we become a willing participant in the process of sanctification, the burdens of the soul are replaced with the light of hope—a refinement and purification of the soul through Christ, with joy accompanying the process."

Yeah, the “Home remodeler sinners“ get to be on the right hand 10% of the painting.  The world looks different from that black line where we are worried about the cracks in our foundation, and wondering if the roof will stay on the next time the wind blows hard.
 

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/jan-fisher?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR1Pimc4m1kQSb-0s-qNn_YeOjjFwQ3zfT0PoRIb7UYl3BlCkkKdcR3AyI8#1

Edited June 10 by NeuroTypical

[Traveler]

2 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

I suppose I can understand why folks who have led mostly sinless lives might see things like this.
 

For those of us who have more than a passing acquaintance with the horrible things that Lucifer can instill in our hearts and souls, it’s not an especially useful illustration of how repentance looks.
 

Here is a painting called "Sanctification", done by Amy Finder in 1973.  

I'm not sure if these are the artists words or the church's words, but:
"Only through the marvelous Atonement of the Savior is it possible to strip away layers of pain, sorrow, and guilt—sin’s treacherous landscape. When we become a willing participant in the process of sanctification, the burdens of the soul are replaced with the light of hope—a refinement and purification of the soul through Christ, with joy accompanying the process."

Yeah, the “Home remodeler sinners“ get to be on the right hand 10% of the painting.  The world looks different from that black line where we are worried about the cracks in our foundation, and wondering if the roof will stay on the next time the wind blows hard.
 

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/jan-fisher?lang=eng&fbclid=IwAR1Pimc4m1kQSb-0s-qNn_YeOjjFwQ3zfT0PoRIb7UYl3BlCkkKdcR3AyI8#1

Thanks – I appreciate your contribution.  I was born of goodly parents – actually 5 generations of exceptional parents.  I grew up thinking every family was like mine.  My parents would often refer to your picture but were adamant that it is not about where you came from, where you have been or even where you are – the only thing that is important and brings joy is the direction you are going.

I was also taught to never draw a line between good and evil – the reason is that we tend to think all is well as long as we stay on the good side of the line.  The great problem with that kind of thinking is that we tend to end up as close to the line as possible without crossing it.  And yet, if we happen to cross that line by the slightest bit we realize that things do not change so much and are just as okay as before – thus we end up inadvertently redrawing our line between good and evil – moving towards evil.

When we talk about such things, I become disappointed with the idea of perfect because it seems to me to be more about the destination than the journey.  Rather I like to think good is the direction into the light and to travel in any other direction is evil.  I attempt to employ this thinking when it comes to those struggling with dark things, weather it is the WOW, chastity, pride, LGBTQ+ or whatever – welcome to the path towards the light.  Let us all work towards the light and take the next step together.  

 

The Traveler

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, Traveler said:

I was also taught to never draw a line between good and evil – the reason is that we tend to think all is well as long as we stay on the good side of the line.  

Agreed.  The painting doesn't draw a line between good and evil.  That line is a human soul, at a slice of time in it's journey, and it depicts the negative impact that sin has on that individual soul, on that particular day.  It doesn't judge, it measures how heavy a load of sin might look or feel like.

 

Quote

I become disappointed with the idea of perfect because it seems to me to be more about the destination than the journey.  Rather I like to think good is the direction into the light and to travel in any other direction is evil.  I attempt to employ this thinking when it comes to those struggling with dark things, weather it is the WOW, chastity, pride, LGBTQ+ or whatever – welcome to the path towards the light.  Let us all work towards the light and take the next step together.  

Also agreed.  No matter where our line might be drawn on that painting, it's always possible and important to keep moving towards the light.

 

Look at those black tendril things!  I recognize those.  Look at how much closer to the light someone might go, and there's still a couple of those tendrils, just as present as they've always been.  It's like "Look at how far I've come Lord, and yet still this thing still darkens my soul, seeming just as powerful as it ever was.  Oh when will I be rid of it?"   I recognize that image.  Others tell me they recognize those tendrils.  They're the reason people can progress, but end up falling back into sin.  I know a person who has in their fourth decade of being "clean and sober".  They still think of themselves as an alcoholic, just one drink away from going back to the old days.  It's a mindset for someone who recognizes and continues to battle against the tendrils, as they continue to move towards the light.

Cool painting, isn't it!

Edited June 10 by NeuroTypical

[mikbone]

We just finished a big remodel, half of the house as well as an elevated steel and concrete deck with complex engendered retaining walls etc.

I can sympathize with your repentance analogy.  I sure felt like repenting my decisions a few times during the process.

[Carborendum]

On 6/9/2024 at 5:25 PM, Traveler said:

We are most of the way through this remodel.  I am starting to realize that remodeling a good home is a lot like a Latter-day Saint repenting. 

18 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

For those of us who have more than a passing acquaintance with the horrible things that Lucifer can instill in our hearts and souls, it’s not an especially useful illustration of how repentance looks.

This reminds me of C.S. Lewis' words about the grass field never producing wheat.