He’s still working on me

I have a happy little ray-of-sunshine dog named Gracie. She is hands down the best creature I know, and I’ve decided I need to be more like her. She’s smart, incredibly intuitive, and has a way of recognizing the needs of humans and dogs alike. Yesterday, while shopping, she zeroed in on a woman and dragged me to her. The woman bent down to pet her, and Gracie gave her kisses. The woman was overcome with emotion and told me that she had just left her father’s funeral and that Gracie’s kisses were just what she needed. Yay, Gracie!

Gracie is forever content, fearless, sweet, and perfectly loves everyone. She protects the weak, as evidenced by her mothering all who live with her. She hovers over and leads our precious senior dog, Molly, who is nearly blind from her cataracts. But best of all, Gracie doesn’t hold grudges. She doesn’t get mad and believes the best about all of us.

But as much as I want to be like Gracie, I’m still me. The person that I am is often anxious and discontent and sometimes more concerned with my needs than the needs of others. And try as I might, I don’t always believe the best about those closest to me, and sometimes I get stuck in a stubborn grudge. No wonder happiness often alludes to me while it is Gracie’s constant companion.

Part of the frustration is that I know inside me that Jesus’ Spirit is co-mingled with mine, so I’m innately all those things. But on the outside, I’m often the Anti-Gracie! I keep asking Papa God to change me, but I still feel and usually act like me. But I know something that gives me hope. He’s still working on me.

I remember being a little girl in Sunday School and singing the chorus of a song named “He’s still working on me” by Bill and Gloria Gaither. I recently looked it up, and the lyrics are profound: “There really ought to be a sign upon my heart, ‘don’t judge him yet, there’s an unfinished part.’ But I’ll be better just according to His plan. Fashioned by the Master’s loving hands… In the mirror of His word, reflections that I see make me wonder why He never gave up on me. But He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray. Remember, He’s the potter; I’m the clay. He’s still working on me. To make me what I need to be. It took him just a week to make the moon and the stars…How loving and patient He must be ’cause He’s still working on me.”

That sweet little song gives me hope, and hope always leads me to faith. I recently heard that true faith isn’t attached to outcomes but is firmly rooted in God’s nature and character. I like that because I am stubborn in believing Papa God is ridiculously good, loving, patient, and kind. Plus, I stubbornly believe His goodness is not only for me but also in me. I am created in His image and filled with His Spirit. That means my default nature is to be like Gracie, who reminds me a lot of what my best friend Jesus is like.

This led me to take a long look at Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day Christ Jesus returns.” Well, there’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, He promises He will not stop until I have those traits I covet. But, on the other hand, this will be a long process, with the finished me being unveiled either when I go home to Him or when that trumpet blows. Both feel like a long way off today when I’m stuck in my “under construction” state.

Alas, folks, we are all smack dab in the middle of our change process, and it can be messy sometimes. That means the unfinished you will sometimes run into the unfinished me, and sparks may fly. When that happens, I pray we can give each other and ourselves a little bit of grace and remind each other, “He’s still working on me!”