We moved into this house a year ago. As rental houses go, it’s not bad, but we’re “expert” renters. We know what to ask, what to look for, and even what we can afford (factoring in rent, utilities, commute, etc).
Then we moved here.
Coming from a stairwell in Germany to the rolling hills of Kentucky, we were super excited about space. Finding a house that had open lots to one side and a big pasture in the back surely meant we were set. Double checking with the realtor about both areas, he assured us there was nothing going to be built there for at least the next few years.
Boy, was he wrong.
Not six months after we moved in, a building project started in the pasture behind the house. Not just a little house project, but a major senior living community beginning right at the property line. A few months later they started on a house next door. Our quiet space has turned into pouring concrete at 0430, blocked roadways, and a view that is not what it used to be.
As frustrating as it is, I have learned a lesson or two from the chaos that has ensued.
How many times have we gotten to a new location and simply wanted to rest? Longing for peace and quiet along with some “downtime,” we’re not quite ready to jump back into things in the new place. I’d much rather throw my hammock in the trees. Yet, God has not called us to a vacation, to a life of comfort. He is continually at work around us and his desire is for us to simply join him in what he’s doing. As much as I want the tranquil pastures, he calls us to more.
Construction also reminds me of me. A continual work in progress, he’s never quite done with me. The buildings around us are messy and spill over into the road and our yard. Eventually, I know they will be useful for many, provide a sweet home for others, and be a place of memories. They will be wonderful places.
Much like those buildings in their muddy mess today, I too am a work on which the Lord still has much to do. It takes time and, truthfully, I won’t be fully beautiful till I meet him face to face, but I will be much more than I am today. Through the investment of others along this path, the blueprints he’s already designed, and permits acquired, the building will be all it was designed to be – and so will I.
It feels like it takes forever.
But as I am continually molded into something more beautiful, more like Christ tomorrow than I was today, I also cherish the journey. The people who have invested in me, the God who had a plan for my life long before I arrived here, and the boundaries he has set for me are all cherished possessions and sweet reminders of what he has done as well as what he still has yet to do.
The skilled laborers that have yet to arrive, the beautiful touches that have yet to be installed, and magnificent architecture that will be a testimony to an amazing God are all things to which I can look forward. Yet, I am also grateful for the dirt work, the foundations, and the utility structures that he’s already laid.
The construction is a pain out behind my house, especially when the realtor assured us there would be nothing happening “for years,” but I’m grateful for the reminder when I look out the window of a God who calls me to obedience instead of comfort and his grace that continues to work in me.
Also – honestly – I’m also counting months to when we move next, hopefully – just maybe – they won’t be doing construction out our back door in the next house.
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