This month, we’ve been doing construction work.
“Construction work” is code for sanding. On the first day, we were told to
start sanding down the plaster on the walls and ceiling. On Extreme Home
Makeover, this is a simple task. Take a power sander, touch it to the wall, and
2 seconds later… all is well.
On Romanian Orphanage Makeover, we were handed a piece of
sandpaper and a breathing mask.
So we began sanding. And sanding. And sanding.
By day 3, I started having the sensation that I had already
sanded one particular room three times.
By day 4, my suspicions were confirmed. This is what I
learned:
We sanded the room the first time so that we could
re-plaster it correctly. We sanded the room the second time to flatten that set
of plaster. We re-sanded the room a third time because we realized none of the
screws were in the wall far enough. We sanded the room a forth time because we
lost count. And we sanded the room a fifth time for good measure. We might
follow God’s example and sand it a sixth time and then rest for the seventh.
It has gotten rather tedious and redundant to sand the same
room multiple times. Each time we get closer and closer to the finished
product. Each time we refine a little more, and the walls get smoother and
smoother.
I was walking back from my afternoon sanding shift,
wondering when we’d finally be done sanding, when a thought struck me. This is
what God does. God is an expert sander. He spends countless hours meticulously
sanding and refining areas of our lives. He continually works to smooth out the
kinks in our character. Each time we think we’ve gotten a certain area under
control, life hands us more plaster, and God goes to work again, sanding and
refining us. Each time, He gets closer and closer to a finished product. But
unlike us, He never grows weary. He never tires of sanding out the chunks of
plaster and junk in our lives.
I thought for a second, “God never tires, He must have a
power sander”. But I don’t think he does. God is gentle. He takes His time. He
carefully inspects every area, slowly working his way into the cracks and
crevices. No, power sanding is not how I envision God working in my life.
This revelation doesn’t actually make sanding any easier or
my desire to do it any stronger. But at least I was given a good visual for how
God works in our lives. Also, it’s given me an understanding of what it meant
to be a carpenter in Jesus’s day. And finally, I’m pretty sure it’s given my
arms a pretty good workout.
Also: you can always tell who was put on the sanding crew.
They always come back a little whiter.
