God's repair shop

17 May 2022

Restoring the lives of the abandoned and rejected 

Words James Burns

My wife and I have recently become fans of the British television show, The Repair Shop. 

Each episode features three people who bring along treasured items that have seen better days. Although the articles seldom have any financial value, they are of value to their owners because of the back story. Often the items will have belonged to ancestors, who may have acquired them in difficult circumstances. Sadly, many of the pieces have been neglected, stored in an attic or cupboard for many years and are in a state that suggests that they can never be brought back to be of use. To you and me, they may only be fit for the scrapheap. But not to their owners. 

The Repair Shop draws together some of Britain’s most skilled restoration experts, masters in their field of upholstery, ceramics, clock repair, leatherwork, and carpentry, to name but a few. Using mainly skills that were once commonplace but now are not, they restore articles to some of their former glory. 

Life can be like that for us too. We can feel neglected, abandoned, of no use to anyone, and ready for the bin. Our self-esteem may be so low that we think that no one cares or notices us, that we have no value. 

I am reminded of the story in the Bible where God told Jeremiah (an Old Testament prophet) to go to the potter’s house. Jeremiah watched as the potter worked at his wheel. Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else. It was never just thrown away as having no use at all. 

God is likened to the potter, ready to take the life that we might think is worthless and make it into something of value. We call him our Maker, so who better to shape us into the person he planned for us to be? Are you ready to enter God’s repair shop? 

James Burns is a freelance writer from the Dunstable Salvos in the United Kingdom.