Usually when you think of construction on a missions trip, you think of building something. And it is very logical to see how building is a blessing to a ministry.
This month, my team was given the opportunity to tear down a house. It was still a huge blessing to the family that used to live there, but not in the way you would think. It was not the most glamorous job. It was raining all day, so we were slipping and sliding in the mud as we tore down the house.
Instead of dry wall, there were bamboo mats.
Instead of a roof, there was tin sheeting.
Instead of a floor, there was a piece of linoleum spread over a dirt floor.
Instead of hinges, the doors were held on with bent nails.
Instead of two-by-fours, there were trees and branches.
A tree had fallen on this house. The house was unoccupied when it fell, so no one was hurt. We were tearing down the house to salvage the building materials. Our contact used to live in this house.
Before
After
Destruction is fun! It's the creepy crawly spiders, ants, cockroaches, and other bugs that I wasn't a fan of…
As we were tearing down the house, many songs came to mind[as they often do as I live life…]: Tear the Roof of the Sucker, Big House, Break Me Down, Tear Down the Walls… But the worship song Tear Down the Walls stuck with me throughout the day. How many Christian songs sing the lyrics tear down the walls/break me down?
During the process…
This day's task was such a great picture of what it means to tear down the walls. We sing and pray that God would tear down the walls that are holding us back, that we are hiding behind. But man, is that hard work! Its also messy. And you find things you'd rather not know were there, or would rather ignore and pretend weren't there.
Just like the ants, and spiders, and cockroaches that we unearthed in tearing down the house, God's going to find things in you that you would rather not know were there, and would rather forget you even saw. But it's the getting muddy and addressing the creepy crawlies that bring growth, that bring freedom.
So next time you sing a song or pray a pray with the theme of tearing down walls or breaking you, make sure you are ready for what's gonna come. It's going to be messy; it's going to hurt. But it's so worth it. True freedom is what is waiting for you. So what are you waiting for?
