Trading Spaces

Last night we painted the unfinished room in our new basement that will soon become the classroom/music room. The previous inhabitant of that room was a 15 year old boy. He took advantage of the "unfinished nature" of the room, and created graffiti all over the walls. Much of it his own, however some appeared to be notes from friends, even mom and dad. The words covering the walls were scriptures, prayers, encouraging words from others, declarations of the goodness of God, and statements about radical faith. I can think of many other words that might have been inscribed on the walls of a teenagers bedroom. While painting over his history, I felt grateful that the thoughts going up in that room had been precious to the heart of God; and although I was covering those words, there was a peace in my heart that the room had been well prepared for my children.