True Grit

 

One day I uncovered this keepsake.  The gray gritty block of rock is from my mission trip to the Dominican Republic.  It was given to each team member as a reminder of the work that we did that week by our trip leader Mitch Hildebrant.  


In the DR they don't have sandpaper, or convenient Western sanders.  The don't have sophisticated carpentry tools at all.  In fact we hauled water by a bucket and a heavy rope up to the second floor level where we mixed concrete by hand.  Their tools are very rudimentary.  We mixed the mortar with a rake, a shovel and a wheelbarrow.  Since the walls were concrete too we had to smooth off the rough places with this sanding stone before we could primer and paint it.  It was very rough, dirty work.  We worked hard as a team and at the end of the day, there was a thin layer of fine dust that rested on our exposed skin and clothes.  


There are some rough edges of my heart places where God has been digging into.  Rough places of faith as He is making them stronger.  Sometimes it feels like He is taking his sanding block and scraping against the grain in the walls of my heart to make them smooth.  Kind of like scraping in an open wound that won't heal.  It stings a little.  It's somewhat gritty and dusty, this sanding process, but I know God is smoothing my heart's rough edges.    


When using the sanding block in the DR, we would sand and then run our hands over the sanded parts to see if there were any remaining rough places.  The next step was a beautiful coat of paint.  God has his righteous right hand over me with the work He is doing.  As a Master planner watching over his work, He is overseeing this refining process through to the end to bring His glorious reveal.  

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

What rough places is God smoothing in you?

Please pray for my friend Mitch!

Music Monday [Where I Belong]

At Winter Jam there were some volunteers sporting yellow hard hats and t-shirts.  They were the street team for Building 429 helping to push their product, but it gave a construction zone feel to the place.  They came out on stage they sang their set, but the lyrics of Where I Belong really hit my heart.  

So when the walls come falling down on me
And when I'm lost in the current of a raging sea
I have this blessed assurance holding me.

Many times in construction zones, it gets really messy before it gets better.  There is pretty much a mess with materials and tools until the job is complete.  I often consider my life like a construction zone with God as the Master Planner.  He's got the blueprints and has designed me to obey and follow Him.  I often want to peek at the plans to see where we are headed.    One truth remains as I seek to follow and that is I am not "home" yet. 


Home is heaven and I have accepted His invitation to join Him in living my forever there.  That's where I belong.  So in this world that I live and in my home that I reside I have a blessed assurance that God is holding me and holding the plans for my tomorrows.  His assurance gives me comfort that this world is not a home that God created me for...He knew that I would just be passing through.  That's comforting, that helps.


In my construction zone of transformation, as I thrive to be more like Christ, there are a lot of twists, turns, walls being built, walls falling down.  The zone of change is quite active like a raging sea at times.  A lot of turmoil, a lot of trials, a lot of opportunities, a lot of impact.  But through it all, I have God's assurance...this is not where I belong.  Heaven is.