“Huh?  What’s a reno?” you may be asking.  Well, as Carolyn and I have learned from watching the cable network Home and Garden Television (HGTV), a “reno” is short for “renovation.”   A number of their shows deal with homeowners undertaking “renos” that totally transform their present or prospective dwellings.  The make-overs are often astounding.

In one of the programs—“The Property Brothers”—the twin stars (one a contractor, the other a realtor) show buyers properties that generally need serious work—work that regularly includes a complete gutting of much of the interior.  The hosts regularly ask their clients to look past the overwhelmingly discouraging appearances of those structures and to instead see the amazing possibilities of each.  It’s often very difficult for the buyers to do so, but their eventual willingness to proceed brings about results that are truly remarkable.

However, the “reno” in the title of this post is not referring to whether or not you’re undertaking a house remodeling.  No, I’m asking whether you’re doing a metaphysical renovation of your real house, your real dwelling place—your consciousness.

And just like those potential homeowners, are you willing to see the possibilities or are you getting stuck with the appearances?

Perhaps, you’re struggling with a physical problem, or maybe it’s a financial or relationship one.  Maybe you’ve been feeling guilty or not finding the spiritual progress you’d like in your life.  Or perhaps it’s a myriad of other issues.

But if we’re willing to look beyond and dig deeper than the appearances of a mental house in shambles—a house filled with fear, doubt, hopelessness, sickness, sin, and death—we’ll find the truth that heals, uplifts, regenerates, and reforms.  We’ll find that our true dwelling place is, as the Psalmist said:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

It is in that secret place—the kingdom of heaven—where we have always, will always, and do presently reside.  We need to awaken to this fact and continue in it.  And that awakening and continuance takes watchfulness, prayerfulness, and perseverance.  Make no mistake; it’s not a one-time deal.  We may encounter unexpected impediments—some may even seem insurmountable.  None are.

The spiritual perseverance to break through the walls of error, to tear down the foundations of evil, to demolish the furnishings of pantheistic material thinking, and replace them with the stonework of Life, Truth, and Love—of God—yields a house that stands as a beacon.  A consciousness that radiates the Christ as we open our hearts to be willing to be healed and to heal our neighbors!

In Unity of Good (p. 6:4), Mrs. Eddy stated:

Sooner or later the whole human race will learn that, in proportion as the spotless selfhood of God is understood, human nature will be renovated, and man will receive a higher selfhood, derived from God, and the redemption of mortals from sin, sickness, and death be established on everlasting foundations.

Isn’t that the renovation we all want?