The Perfect Foil

So, one of my childhood rock icons was Steve Taylor of Steve Taylor and Some Band fame. Well, Steve hasn't made an album in like 20+ years now but is finally getting off the snide and making a new album much to my unsurpassed joy via Kickstarter.  However, his new band's name is called the Perfect Foil... they go by Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil because he is Steve Taylor and that is how he rolls.

What is the perfect foil? I don't know. For the purposes of this blog though I am thinking of aluminum foil, like a perfect sheet of non-crinkled up aluminum foil. I am imagining that perfect foil is representative of all of the New Year's resolutions, life changes, dedicated blog entries I would do without missing one, hours I can maintain without sinning, how many weeks I can go to church without missing once, how many days I can get out of bed before 7:00 a.m., etc... but then life happens. I screw up. A crinkle appears in my aluminum foil, then another, then another, then another, then I try and fold it and start over thinking the crinkles aren't there because you know they are all on the bottom side and out of sight, but life keeps happening, I keep screwing up, then I find myself folding it again and again and again... then I try and distort the foil into other shapes, pretend that the flaws aren't there. Heck, I might even call it art, make these disturbing crinkles in my armor seem like badges or medals or something to be proud of. Yeah, that is it. The crinkles are my trophies, and the distortions are now my masterpieces. Who made you an art critic? Who are you and how are you qualified to judge me? Are you an aluminum expert? I think not. Besides, no one is asking you opinion anyways. On and on it goes, more crinkles, more folds, more twists, a few tears here and there as the strain of living of to expectations start to break through the seams made by the crinkles. Ultimately, there is just this magnificent ball of screwed up foil and I end up throwing it away.

I really wanted to throw it away. Wait a minute, I DID THROW IT AWAY... and I celebrated the two point jump shot when I saw it rebound into the trash can.

That is the wonderful thing about the nature of God. He holds the trash can. He has all of our imperfect balls of foil. With His master craftsman hands, Jesus gently smooths out the crinkles, repairs the breaches, exposes the folds, and stands in the gaps. Once your foil is perfect again, He invites you to do the same for another. Will you? Will I?

"Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In..."

~ Isaiah 58:12

I hope so.