As I neared the church parking lot, I studied the construction barriers. Could I drive into the parking lot?
An email sent earlier in the week had noted there would be construction. A construction crew needed to tear up the street just outside the parking lot to do work on the buried water pipes. The email suggested the crew would plan to keep a clear route to the church parking lot for mid-week events.
This end of the road had barricades, though there weren’t any workers nearby. Perhaps the other end was open.
I continued past the road and made a long detour in an attempt to approach the church from the other direction on that same road.
As I rounded the corner bringing the church into view, I stepped on the brake. Not only was this end barricaded, but an excavator and front-end loader were hard at work here.
Definitely not open.
There was no room to turn around where I was on the narrow street with cars parked along both sides.
I switched into reverse.
I backed up till I passed the nearest alley, then drove through it. It was bumpy and unpaved, but empty.
Back out on the main street, I approached the first end of the road again.
One of the barricades had been moved to the side. I could see a clear path to the church parking lot. The heavy machinery and crew were a fair distance away.
I decided to try it.
I cautiously navigated past the barrier and along the road.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled into the church parking lot, and chose an empty stall.
In the back of my vehicle, I could hear my kids exclaiming excitedly about the construction vehicles.
I unbuckled my daughter and let her out.
Walking around to the other side of the vehicle, I pulled my 1-year-old son out. I placed him on the sidewalk.
He took two steps towards the busy construction crew (who were a whole parking lot away), then sat down decidedly. He stared in fascination at the noisy machines.
My daughter asked, “What are they building?”
“They’re doing something with the pipes,” I explained.
“Oh.” She watched in wonder.
My son continued to give them his undivided attention. He didn’t want to go anywhere else.
Several other ladies showed up.
I convinced my 1-year-old to head into the church. Still he kept looking back. He pointed and made grunting, sputtering sounds – his version of what the heavy equipment sounded like.
As we entered the church, we greeted one of the pastors.
Immediately we discussed the inconveniences and hassle the construction site had caused and our hope that it would be short-lived.
A day or two later, I found myself thinking of the occasion. I see a lesson there for me.
As Paul tells me, “it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 CSB
The construction represents God’s work in my life. He helps me grow and become more of the person He created me to be – a person filled with the Fruit of the Spirit.
When there is no construction – no upgrading or making new – things slowly, over the years, degrade and fall into disrepair.
My life is like that. If God is not at work transforming me, I am coasting. Coasting may feel fine and good for a while, but gradually coasting leads away from a close walk with God. As I become more distant from God, the Fruit of the Spirit will fade out of my life.
When construction happens, it is typically messy and noisy. It is an inconvenience requiring detours and delays.
It is not clean and tidy most of the time. It is not comfortable, but it is necessary.
Sometimes, like the construction site by my church, it is all to do with deep hidden pipes. Once they refill the hole and patch the road back together, it will seem like they did nothing helpful at all.
Sometimes the work God has to do in me is like that. It is a transformation of the deep hidden parts of me that most people will never know about.
Yet if the deep underground pipes stop working, everyone knows about it. Fresh water stops flowing or sewage backs up. It is not good at all!
What do my children’s responses have to do with any of this?
They are a reminder that I get to choose my attitude.
When construction happens in my life, will I choose to marvel or mumble?
Will l be annoyed, frustrated, and complaining? Will I rant and fight against God?
Or, like my 1-year-old son, will I choose to sit in awe and marvel at what God is doing?
Like my daughter, will I wonder what God is up to? Will I choose to be hopeful for what the future holds as He is at work preparing me for it?
Today, I want to pause to thank God that He is at work in me and to wonder at what He is up to.
God knows what He is doing, I can trust Him.
