“Listen to Him!”
I was excited to be involved with Habitat for Humanity last Saturday. I packed a toolbox with tools that I thought I would need at the build site, including, of course, my hammer. I should have guessed, from the amateurs and pros that usually descend on such projects, that there would be plenty of tools to go around.
When I arrived at the pre-build site in Roseville, I was surprised by two observations: (1) There were three house foundations on this lot. (2) These foundations were open, ten-foot-deep pits. Our first order of the day was to put the I-beam mid-house girders in place across these foundations, without hydraulic lifts or overhead cranes. We had to use brute force. Uh, what was I getting into?
Alex Litrochen, the Royal Oak brother who organized the Church of Christ team, was one of three grasping a thick nylon rope that was wrapped around one end of the beam, with Glenn, our “straw boss” guiding the beam into its concrete-cast “pocket” in the foundation. There were four holding up the other end of the beam. I saw my first assignment: “Grab the rope!”
You know how “creepy” it feels, to be grabbing an end of an I-beam weighing hundreds of pounds, standing in slippery, “mucky” clay soil, as you waddle toward an ever-approaching basement wall? It’s ten feet to the bottom! After some effort, we got it in place!
Glenn then began giving orders on proper measurements for a certain part of the foundation-to-floor connections. Glenn spoke to Alex and me, as if we were equally qualified to build a house. His words went right over my head.
When I left with Alex to cut Styrofoam, I asked him, “What did he just say?” “Have you ever built a house before?” he asked. “No, I haven’t,” I replied. “I’ve worked with electrical, plumbing, wallboard, paneling and ceiling tile, but I have not built a house from the ground-up. Uh, Alex, you take the instructions, and I’ll help ya.” That’s basically what I did for the rest of the day: Someone took the instructions, and I helped!
To become a child of God, one has to develop the mindset of a little child (Mtt. 18:3 – 4). Little children seem to innately trust a bigger person. Somehow they feel comfort in the bigger person’s maturity and experience. As long as the grown person does not break his trust, just so long will the child trust him.
We cannot figure out life by ourselves, although we think we can (Pro. 20:24; Jer. 10:23). We need help. God has never given cause for man to doubt Him. His is the voice of experience (Pro. 3:19 – 20).
The Father said about Jesus, His Son, “Listen to Him!” (Mtt. 17:5) Let’s do it!
|
