I guess I waxing philosophical today. That's what happens when the autumn color inspires me and I hunker down against the chill...
October 17, 2010
We’ve been building a house. Some would argue that WE haven’t been building the house, Nate White has been. I guess that’s mostly true, but we have invested literally everything we could into our house on Loon Lake, including quick-after-work trips and Saturdays of hauling, sanding, painting, sawing and hammering, not to mention every dollar in our savings.
John began by drawing up plans. He spent hours and hours, months upon months drawing and redrawing a floor plan that would fit into the 24x42 footprint of Grandma’s cabin. For several years (until we moved to New York and could visit at our discretion) our biennial two-week vacation took us across country for 3 days to arrive in our Upstate New York destination. Here, our kids learned to ski on the yellow ducky skis, swim in the soft lake water, concoct stews of pinecones and berries, counsel with cousins, savor suppers on the deck, and hike Stewart’s Mountain. A generation before, John and his brother had done the same things. This quiet camp holds our family history.
Posts and beams formed John’s dream. Although it isn’t a true post and beam, the house holds the charm of the English homes that inspired John on his mission. Sturdy and strong they support much of the house as well as the upstairs floor. In the chilly fall, Chris and Brandon helped raise the walls and lay out the floor support, drilling and screwing each beam to a black angle iron.
Summer’s heat brought Stuart’s efforts on the deck and porch, and Trevor’s stained cement floor. Together with Brandon, they created stairs and a slate fire pit amidst short visits of laughter, splashing, and barbecuing. Kim and Chris finished where they left off, and time stole away.
It’s fall again. Enclosed, but only skeletal inside, our home awaits completion. From this process I’m learning that times runs on. Sometimes I need to be patient because things don’t happen fast enough or money doesn’t last long enough. Most importantly, I’m learning that things don’t happen without work. All the materials may be available, all the wood stacked in piles, all the tools ready for use; yet, if we don’t pick them up and apply effort to use them nothing happens. We can stand around and admire what we have accomplished but nothing else gets done. Instead, we must roll up our sleeves and start working. Without a tool in our hands progress is not made. So, everyday, every hour, even every minute we spend sanding or painting, drilling or hammering we move closer to completion.
Isn’t this much like life? We are the tools in Heavenly Father’s hands. His work—“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”—requires great effort. However, unlike us using the tools to build a house, we are His tools. He relies on us. He is bound by laws that restrain him from stepping in to make things happen. When we float through life, without purpose or regard for others, his work is stalemated, but when we follow His promptings and allow him to utilize us as tools, his great work moves forward bringing us closer to His promised blessings.
We’ve been building a house. Some would argue that WE haven’t been building the house, Nate White has been. I guess that’s mostly true, but we have invested literally everything we could into our house on Loon Lake, including quick-after-work trips and Saturdays of hauling, sanding, painting, sawing and hammering, not to mention every dollar in our savings.
John began by drawing up plans. He spent hours and hours, months upon months drawing and redrawing a floor plan that would fit into the 24x42 footprint of Grandma’s cabin. For several years (until we moved to New York and could visit at our discretion) our biennial two-week vacation took us across country for 3 days to arrive in our Upstate New York destination. Here, our kids learned to ski on the yellow ducky skis, swim in the soft lake water, concoct stews of pinecones and berries, counsel with cousins, savor suppers on the deck, and hike Stewart’s Mountain. A generation before, John and his brother had done the same things. This quiet camp holds our family history.
Posts and beams formed John’s dream. Although it isn’t a true post and beam, the house holds the charm of the English homes that inspired John on his mission. Sturdy and strong they support much of the house as well as the upstairs floor. In the chilly fall, Chris and Brandon helped raise the walls and lay out the floor support, drilling and screwing each beam to a black angle iron.
Summer’s heat brought Stuart’s efforts on the deck and porch, and Trevor’s stained cement floor. Together with Brandon, they created stairs and a slate fire pit amidst short visits of laughter, splashing, and barbecuing. Kim and Chris finished where they left off, and time stole away.
It’s fall again. Enclosed, but only skeletal inside, our home awaits completion. From this process I’m learning that times runs on. Sometimes I need to be patient because things don’t happen fast enough or money doesn’t last long enough. Most importantly, I’m learning that things don’t happen without work. All the materials may be available, all the wood stacked in piles, all the tools ready for use; yet, if we don’t pick them up and apply effort to use them nothing happens. We can stand around and admire what we have accomplished but nothing else gets done. Instead, we must roll up our sleeves and start working. Without a tool in our hands progress is not made. So, everyday, every hour, even every minute we spend sanding or painting, drilling or hammering we move closer to completion.
Isn’t this much like life? We are the tools in Heavenly Father’s hands. His work—“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”—requires great effort. However, unlike us using the tools to build a house, we are His tools. He relies on us. He is bound by laws that restrain him from stepping in to make things happen. When we float through life, without purpose or regard for others, his work is stalemated, but when we follow His promptings and allow him to utilize us as tools, his great work moves forward bringing us closer to His promised blessings.
