Old Has Gone and New Has Come

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is gone, and the new has come!
 II Cor. 5:17

We no sooner get home from our trip out west than we decide our garage cement floor needed a make over. Over the years we have slapped on a coat of latex paint to a point we had several coats that had been worn by the tires of the cars. Our neighbor, Duane Winter, is known for his immaculate garage floor. So, Paul contacted him to get his advice. He encouraged us to rent a machine that will strip off all the old paint before applying one more coat. This machine would take off all the old paint and reveal the original bare cement floor by rotating blades that cut through the layers of paint.

Last Friday we rented the machine and before the day was over we had taken all of the old paint off the floor. That was just the first step. Once we were down to the bare floor we had to take a degreaser and strong soap solution and scrub every square inch of the floor with a stiff brush to make sure that every square inch of the floor was clean. Following that, we had to thoroughly rinse the floor, and then remove all excess water with a squeegee. Once the floor was totally clean and degreased, a etching ingredient had to be applied to the floor and then thoroughly scrubbed with a stiff brush as well. All of this process will assure that the final application of paint will adhere better. Once the etching has taken place, another complete rinsing of the floor must be done. The excess rinse water needs to be removed for the squeegee.

                    Garage floor before preparation work has begun.

Before painting, the floor must be thoroughly dry. So, Paul has placed two fans in the garage and has them running continually for several days, moving them periodically. The conditions must be right for the application of the epoxy paint. One of those conditions is the humidity must be below 80 percent. Since the past few days have been very humid, we have chosen to wait until the humidity drops which will be toward the end of this week.  We plan to include a picture of our garage floor after the make over has taken place.

As you can see, a spiritual application can be drawn from our garage floor project. The verse above speaks of being a new creation in Christ and the result is basically off with the old and on with the new. In order for us to do a proper refinishing of the garage floor all of the old paint had to go. Once that had been removed than we needed to make preparation for the application of the new paint.
When Christ comes into our life, the old things that cluttered our life are removed to make way for the new life that we have in Him. The old is gone, the new has come. The new floor will be so much more appealing than the old just as our life should be appealing to the point of drawing others to Christ.

Blessings and Encouragement,

Paul, Gail, Patsy, and Penny