To reinstate, reestablish, reintroduce, revive, renew, recall, replace. To rebuild, reconstruct, reproduce reclaim, renovate, recondition, recover, to mend, to give back. When the Lord is speaking personally to someone about restoration, these are the kinds of things he is working on within the life of an individual. Think about restoring a piece of furniture. The furniture itself may be foundationally good, but the finish, the surface is what usually needs to be restored.
Restoration is a process.
First the old finish needs to be removed. Old finish can be removed by applying chemicals, by heat, by sanding, or by scraping, all of which come under the heading of a stripping process. If you consider this process as one happening within your own life, then you must realize that there is obvious pain and discomfort involved. Through many different circumstances, experiences and teachings we have acquired one type of finish or another. By His Word and by the Holy Spirit we begin or have already begun the restoration process.