RESTORER OF JOY!

Alex Ruskin Antiques in Savannah, Georgia

Four Floors of Antiques ~ Beautiful example of a Preserved Home

The Aiken~Rhett House

Art Gallery in the Aiken-Rhett House

This past week, I was invited to spend a few days in Charleston, South Carolina with my sister.  How gracious of her to share her resources and blessings with me.  Such good company in a place that is truly beautiful!  Nature has been kind to this city, even though hurricane Hugo ravaged some of the homes in the past.  The Historical Charleston Foundation has achieved remarkable results with their historical restoration and their historical preservation of homes, gardens, and government buildings.  If you have not been there, you might consider a vacation in the area.  I can just imagine how the Grand Ladies of these homes would be pleased with the attempts to preserve and restore the homes in which they lived when they were originally built for their families.  Of course, the time in which they lived, even though it was a grand time,  there were also many evils of slavery and  cultural differences that separated people.  Through education of diversity, it seems  much has been accomplished to show the wrongs of those times and today people recognize that each person has a right to equality and human dignity.  The cultural and artistic endeavors of the foundation help instill in each visitor their attempt to share this rich heritage of the low country of South Carolina.

Two words kept me interested~ restoration and preservation.  When something is preserved it is protected from harm or further damage.  When something is restored it is brought back to an earlier or normal condition.  These two words continued in my thoughts as I left Charleston and drove home.  I thought of how God is  THE  RESTORER...."He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."  Psalm 23:3   We wander from God and from the paths of righteousness~from following Him beside the still water~till we lose the way, lose joy, lose the sound of His voice.  Then the Master "restoreth our soul"; and brings us back into His way, in the paths of righteousness.  Oh, gracious "Restorer" bring back my wandering soul as a straying sheep, and lead me on in the paths of righteousness "for Thy name' sake."  Amen  I hope this next week, though a busy season, will give us time to restore our souls and lead us on the right path!  Blessings to you beloved!