I really like shopping at home improvement stores. Even if I don’t need flooring, power tools, lumber or plumbing fixtures, I love the possibility of it all.

And it’s not just the act of physically going to the store and cruising up and down the aisles of kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, decorative hardware and paint that speaks to me. I also profoundly enjoy the weekly sale flyers that get stuffed in my mail box and in my daily paper. (Yes, that’s right I still enjoy that daily old-fashioned newsprint delivered on my porch. Are you surprised?)

Whenever I see a Menard’s, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or hardware store flyer stuffed into the middle of the news sections, I immediately pull them out and slowly turn the pages to see if it’s kitchen or bath month and see all the tools offered to help fix things up.

Some seasons are more exciting than others. In the fall there are sales on insulation and products to help prepare your yard for the dormant season. In winter there are all the products to help get your home, autos and RVs ready for the ice, snow and cold. Then in spring the flowers and gardening displays become the best kind of eye candy. Then summertime brings the patio furniture, shiny new grills and pool and deck supplies. And there are always new little decorations to commemorate the seasons and all the holidays.

So one day I started to wonder what attracted me so much. Why do I drag my husband in to wander around to look at closet organization systems even when we don’t have closets big enough to accommodate them?

At first I thought perhaps it was because we live in a fixer-upper that’s never really been completely fixed up. Even though I would like nothing more than to live in a brand new, completely modern home with all the amenities you see on HGTV and never have to remodel or fix another thing, it wouldn’t provide the sense of accomplishment or renewal that taking a room to the studs and making it beautiful again provides.

I guess what appeals to me is the possibility of it all and the hope. I like to look around my house and imagine what it would look like with a little fix here and a new fixture there. And then, even though you can’t get everything done overnight, it’s rewarding to finally see the “after” picture when you’ve added new cabinets, rugs or a fresh coat of paint. It gives you a sense of renewal and a new appreciation for what you look at day after day.

Faith is like that too. We all are fixer-uppers. And even though we don’t take the time we should to get ourselves fixed up all at once, we can still take pleasure in improving one step at a time.

We live in our faith every day and stay from season to season because we know the possibilities it provides for our souls. Like home improvement, sometimes our faith needs a little sprucing up too. We need to renew our appreciation for the comfort and security our faith provides. So perhaps we attend a retreat, a Lent or Advent series, a Bible study or go on a pilgrimage. Those activities are just like putting a new coat of paint in an old room. And like the sales flyers, some seasons of the liturgical year provide more excitement and more engagement than others but we hang in there hoping to get ourselves new again and worthy of God’s care. And we constantly try to go deeper than the seasonal symbols so our faith is deeper than the ashes we wear.

Our daily prayer too, gives us a regular chance to charge our batteries to provide us the energy to continue to hope even though our prayers may not be answered the way we want.

And then, with the help of some of the sacraments, we have the chance to remodel our inner selves so that we can fully encounter the resurrection for our lives in the faith.

I hope this Lenten season, our Be Reconciled day and all your penitential activities are bringing you to the joy and renewal of Easter. And may our newly remodeled selves help us continue the journey through the liturgical year to appreciate the possibilities Christ provides especially as we travel through this Year of Mercy.