Simple Is Better – The Building Project of Faith

Luke 6:48 –It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built.

Gratitude Day 954

Some projects take longer than others. The latest Hubby Rick building project? It took at least two years for this project to come to fruition.

At our current Reedsburg house, we’re a little short on storage options. I know. It’s a first-world problem but one that we’ve talked about at nauseum.  Hubby Rick wanted a little more storage at our house. With a farm just a few miles away, he converted an old corn crib into a pseudo storage unit where he stores the things we don’t use all the time and lack room in the garage. Shortly after our move, he began talking about building a he-shed in our backyard.

That’s right. A he-shed; not a she-shed.

The first challenge? Our yard is not flat. It’s quite unflat. With a long a skinny lot and a significant rise in our backyard, Hubby Rick wasn’t confident a premade shed could easily be moved into our backyard. So, he decided to build it himself. For the last two years, he’s looked at sheds in person and online. He’s drawn up potential designs and showed them to me. With a little discussion, we agreed on a basic concept.  

Last summer, he leveled out a portion the yard near the woods in our backyard in preparation for the shed. Early this spring, he purchased materials after a building permit was obtained. With that steep backyard, it took a little extra work to get the materials carried up to the location. Our six-year-old granddaughter thought she was a big help carrying up 2x4’s, one at a time.

With a base built, significant construction began a couple of months ago. The frame went up quickly. Rick recruited a little help with the roof and shingles. Yes, we had a discussion on what color it should be painted and agreed upon a color acceptable for both of us. Each week, careful progress was made.

Today, Hubby Rick’s 10x16 he-shed is completed as well as a small retaining wall. We still need to complete a little landscaping around it and he’s building a little patio area in front of the double-doors. When I’m not sure where Rick is these days, I look out the window and see if the he-shed doors are open. And yes, he’s often up there puttering around.

Yes, the whole process took a while. Steps were carefully planned and executed. We had chats about different aesthetics of the shed. The neighbors also watched the progress with one inquiring if Rick was building a chicken coup!

Most often, completing a project that we are passionate about takes time. Planning, preparation, picking out the right materials and then taking care in construction. The time, effort and attention to detail make a huge difference in the success of the project.

Why should we treat our faith journeys with any less reference? Attention? Dedication? IF discovering, understanding and embracing faith is really so important to us, should not we give it as much time and attention as other big-ticket items in our lives? Yet often, faith gets relegated whatever time we have leftover. It’s a second thought, not a first thought. We make sure so many other things are taken care of and then if we have time and energy, we’ll think about faith.

Don’t get me wrong. Faith can’t be our only thought every minute of a day. It’s just not possible. Yet, we convince ourselves that we’ll deal with it when it’s really important. Or when we have more time. Or when we reach some milestone or accomplish some goal.

Faith will always wait for us, no doubt. But when will we be willing to explore faith in a heartfelt way? I get it. There are so many conflicting and challenging positions about faith. Honestly, the church has turned away a lot of people. A lot of people. While being part of a community with similar faith beliefs and thoughts is important, understanding our own faith and what it means to us personally is also super important. Unless we give faith a little bit of time and attention in our lives, it will be difficult to unearth exactly how we feel about faith.

What happens when we avoid thinking and contemplating faith? We accept what someone else says without discerning if this is what we believe. We miss the joy of fully seeing God in our lives each and every day. We don’t embrace the opportunities God puts in front of us to be the Lord’s hands and feet in this world which means someone else misses seeing God in their lives. We fail to experience the blessing of being part of a faith community that can support, encourage, pray for and be a significant part of our lives.

Yes, we often move away from God when we feel God has let us down. This is true. But maybe, just maybe, God didn’t cause the bad thing that happened in our lives. Often, we blame God because we want someone to be held accountable and we don’t know who or what else to blame. Maybe it’s just evil in this world that should remind us of the need for an Almighty One to help us through challenging times.

There is another significant difference between a project like a he-shed and exploring faith in our lives. With the project, there is often a finish line. A completion. With faith? There’s never really a full understanding a completion of faith. That is, until we are no longer part of this world.

May I encourage you to be intentional about exploring one aspect of faith that challenges right now? Maybe you want to know more about prayer or Jesus or someone else from the Bible. Study and learn. Maybe you don’t understand some confusing aspects of faith. Seek out people who can help you explore this. Possibly the hurt and disappointment you attribute to God stops you. Can you set it aside just long enough to truly explore it?

When we embrace faith in a heartfelt, honest way, it truly can become the foundation of our lives. The solid base on which everything else is built. When we fail to see the importance of this faith base, other things take over. Things that pull us away from God and God’s love. May I encourage us to discover one small thing we will do daily for the next week to work on that faith foundation? One simple thing. One thing that doesn’t require too much time and attention but will help us dig just a bit deeper in faith.

Sometimes, the foundation will still be shaky because our faith will be tested. But unless we hang out with faith and let it become more of a part of us, we will constantly be struggling to go up the uneven lawns of our lives. Faith does not indicate we will always have flat ground. Faith gives us guidance for the challenging paths we journey.

Hubby Rick declares this is his LAST building project. Hmmm . . . the jury remains out on this one!

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Just like any building project, faith does best with a good foundation. A plan. Good materials and consistent follow-through. May I see faith not as a one-and-done project but something I embrace daily, guided by You. Amen.

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