Lessons in Construction – Part 2

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abundant life, Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, construction lessons for the christian, course correction, encouragement, encouraging, lessons in construction, measuring life

Measure. Measure. Measure. And then, measure again.

This is an obvious lesson to many of us…me included. I knew that you checked and re-checked measurements on a construction site, but then everything stayed stable, right? You know, once whatever you are working with is where you wanted it, it would stay.

Boy, was I wrong.

Last week, https://tinyurl.com/2p92t2aj I mentioned that my man and I set a few posts our first few days of working together. What I didn’t tell you was how many times those crazy posts were measured, leveled, leveled, leveled, leveled, and leveled again… over and over.

Checked and re-checked.

Every single one.

Over and over again.

It was shocking to me how often things had to be re-leveled and checked. I thought it was unnecessary until I remembered a previous job we had finished for someone earlier in the year…before Mark’s company became “official”. My man had to cut panels (that should have not needed to be cut) because every post was off by just a few inches, or less. A job that should have taken a couple of hours, turned into eight. Why? Because the people before us did not keep checking the status of the posts.

A successful, abundant, purpose-driven, whatever positive word you want to put in front of the word life, requires constant leveling, measuring and re-checking.

What I found when we set our posts for the deck was the slightest breeze, bump, or bug (sort of kidding) could cause it to barely shift from where it needed to be. Once it was stable, it was a different story. Now, it would take something major to shift the posts from their correct placement, but in the beginning… measure, measure, measure, level, level, level. It was the only way to make sure the posts stayed where they needed to be.

So, what is our “level” in life? What are we measuring our lives with?

Hebrew 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.”

This verse reminds us that the Word of God is what judges our ideas and thoughts….that’s our level. That’s our measuring tape. That’s what we check and re-check the direction of our life with. We don’t just say, “Yes” to Jesus and BOOM! we are perfect, mature Christians. It requires checking, re-checking and re-checking again. But, don’t be discouraged! That’s the fun part! Checking and re-checking can be done with others!! Think small groups, podcasts, church, Bible studies… anything that is helping us learn the truth of God’s Word is a way to keep the level on our lives. When the bubble strays from one side to the other (see above image), you recognize it quickly and can adjust immediately. Then, the struggle to stay in the correct position isn’t nearly as difficult as going a few years and realizing you are way off course.

Lesson Two from the construction site? Re-checking over and over again is always worth it.

http://www.seekinghearts.org

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Lessons in Construction

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, construction, encouragement, encouragement for the weary, lessons on the job, life lessons, short word of encouragment

Yes, you read the title correctly. I am currently learning lessons in a construction zone. It is not a play on words. It is the literal truth. My husband has recently become a small business owner in the building industry, so team player that I am, I am also now in the same business. Many people have asked us how it’s working out. It’s going great overall, but that’s a discussion for another day. 🙂 Today’s blog is about a lesson that surprised me early on.

All of my life I have been told, “Shoulders back. Head up. Walk with confidence.” I had a tendency to slouch, so I was told that often. Actually, what my mom really said was more like, “Missy Dawn! Quit slouchin’!”

I am definitely not in a state of perfect posture all of the time, but I am better than I used to be. Head up! Shoulders back! But… that does not go well on a construction site. On a construction site, you MUST look down. You MUST be attentive to your surroundings. In order to be safe, you need to know where you are going and make sure the next step you take is not in a hole.

Psalm 116:8 says, “For You, LORD, rescued me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.”

On a construction site, holes are obvious… if you are watching out for them. On my first official day as my husband’s employee, we set over twenty posts for a deck. I didn’t fall into a hole that week, but it was only by the grace of God… believe me. I learned quickly to put all of my ladylike upbringing on hold to get the job done in a safe manner.

In life though, holes aren’t that obvious. A hole of depression can be easily fallen into by watching the latest news. A hole of discontentment can be fallen into by scrolling Instagram a little too long. A hole of gossip can be fallen into by going to a friend instead of God first. The list can go on and on, but Psalm 116:8, assures us the Lord can keep our feet from stumbling. I love that about Him. I love that in the middle of the day with dirt all around me, dotted with holes freshly dug, God can remind me that He continually rescues me, dries my tears and keeps my feet where they need to be.

http://www.seekinghearts.org