In Need of a Makeover

For once, I am taking an online course instead of teaching one. The class is on Marketing Your Services, something I know I need to work on if I want to continue freelance editing and writing from home.   

Yesterday, I risked accepting an offer from the instructor to critique my website. I have known for a long time that it needed more work than my son (who has been updating my site for several years) could manage, but I feared the long process and expense involved. Let’s face it, when life unravels, everything reflects it, including websites and blogs, and making up for lost time requires more than a quick spruce. Frankly, I was a bit embarrassed, kind of like when you let your house go for weeks on end then realize that company is due to arrive any minute and you can’t possibly get the place cleaned up in time. But I set my pride aside and accepted the critique as a valuable opportunity.

Sure enough, my website is in desperate need of a makeover. I’m sure my blog needs one, too. As expected, I need to learn some new things (like how to use Wordpress), spend a little money, and come up with a new look. I might even need to hire someone besides family to help bring me up-to-date. The idea of starting from scratch feels completely daunting and I have no idea where to begin, but I am incredibly excited!  

My website is one of many areas that have called for a makeover lately. I’m learning that after life unravels and everything from our clothing to our website screams, “I’ve been in an emotional coma for two years,” all you can really do is toss it all out and start over again. As scary and overwhelming and costly as makeovers can be, they are also refreshing, fun, and give us the lift we need to move forward. But how precious that, like this wonderful instructor, God doesn’t just say, “This is a mess; you need to change it.” He also offers to help us change. He points us toward resources, offers examples of what the right way looks like, and is available day or night for those moments when we have no idea where to start. Best of all, He immediately begins revealing the benefits of trading what is worn out but still hard to let go of for something new and fresh.

What area of your life needs a makeover? What exciting possibilities might await you if you take the risk?

“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” Isaiah 43:19 (NASB).