Well Worn

The wood floors in our house are broken in to say the least.  They have seen alot of traffic over the years.  From bare feet to tonka trucks, play heels to bike cleats, sock feet to roller blades, hot wheels and baby strollers, tons of running shoes, dog feet, cat feet, mom feet, dad feet and lots and lots of kid feet.  Often in the summer time, I am reminded of the tough love these floors have seen when the finish comes off and sticks to the bottom of my bare feet.  I know the sound underfoot that each person in our family makes day or night...I know who is walking down the hall without seeing them. 

The floors creek and buckle, but these floors represent alot of growth.  I am thankful that they look the way they do.  Oh, don't get me wrong, there have been times when I envy the lovely floors in homes of friends.  I can see the beautiful grains in the chosen wood and the sunshine bouncing off the perfectly finished surface.  Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to have floors that look that way.  But, then I am reminded of some very important things that our floors represent to me. 

The floors represent change.  This house has seen the growth of six individuals.  The requirements must be hearty to meet the demands of keeping up with years of change from a family.  The change of a young couple with a new baby to a house filled with children and then teenagers.  More than physical growth, I am reminded of the spiritual growth in Christ that comes with a worn in life.  The creeking and buckling represent fun, laughter, hardship and mostly a presence in this place.  Life looks much like that.  A well worn life shows evidence of failure, victory, joy, richness in relationships, hardship, faithfulness, pain and sometimes great suffering...and a brokenness that this life is not about self. 

The older I get, the more I see myself looking pretty broken in too.  I kind of fought that idea for a while.  Now I think I am embracing it as I realize that it represents something much bigger than simply aging.  It represents the things The Lord has taught me, brought me through, given me victory over, reminded me of, and will continue to do so until I see Him face to face. Being well worn is a good thing.  It means love is present and I have lived.

"So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18