The Beauty of Rebuilding

I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and their hands were strengthened to do this good work.

Nehemiah 2:18

My grandkids have cardboard blocks in the playroom and no matter how old they get, when they come over, they stack them as high as possible and then take turns doing parkour off the walls to kick the tower over. Why is destroying something you have taken so much time to create so much fun? I suppose, in this situation, it is the power they have to craft, destroy, and then construct again in such a short, speedy amount of time. I wish the world worked this way, honestly. How often do our lives become ruined and damaged? Rubble left on the ground, piled, dusty, wrecked. And how long does it take to rebuild and get back to a place where we feel complete and whole? It’s certainly not as quick as high-kicking a turret of cardboard, and re-erecting it in mere seconds.

In the past few months my life has been in a rebuilding pattern, relying on God to strengthen my hands to do good work. You might be picturing me with leather gloves and a tool belt, standing in the sweltering sun toiling away at rebuilding something broken down and demolished. Although, I have had times in my life which have felt this way, luckily this was not one of those times. This was a time of rebuilding due to a need to draw closer to my amazing Father.

I am thankful I serve a God who will allow me to go down a path of distraction only to find Him in all the dusty sand, crushed rock, and long roads of rebuilding my attitudes and aspirations. This was a path of distraction I chose to take rather than stay the course and continuing to write when my mind and heart were not in the right place. Instead, I chose to rebuild by going along with distractions that put me directly in line with God’s will and desire which allowed me to create a walled off area in my soul built especially for my God who will strengthen my hands to do a good work.

The first path of distraction took me to the dusty, sandy, beaches of Mexico, Oregon, the Northwest Coast of California and pine tree filled, lake lined camping spots. Here I was able to observe the beauty of quiet foggy beaches with only the sound of the waves and shore birds. In these places I became accustomed to laughter and conversation with amazing friends and built new relationships with people I was just learning about and beginning to enjoy. On these trips I played whiffle ball with my grandkids, hit water balloons with bats, swam in cold mountain lakes, and rode horses through dusty forests.

I journeyed on toward the distraction of long roads to doctors’ offices and medical labs. These trips led me needle pricks and into mechanical machines in order to detect anomalies in my organs, blood, and bones. In each of these I found nurses who cared deeply for a me as a patient and asked probing questions about my history of cancer in order to find a reason and resources to aid in the healing of a new issue. I spent time with doctors who astonished me with their knowledge of diseases with multiple syllables and letters that shouldn’t go together to create a word. And physician’s assistants who prescribed meds, and gave solutions to side affects as if they had suffered themselves.

The final path of distraction took me to view amazing boulders and crushed a rock beach  one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Here I found friends who love to laugh and play. Each event at the lake brought insightful conversations, much loved snack food, gray wigs and morning walks to coffee. I witnessed friends opening up about long time hurts and feelings of not being valued. I glimpsed tears of discouragement and pure joy and I viewed women of faith leaning even closer to the ever-present hand of our God.

In this time of rebuilding, I have been strengthened by the words I spent time reading in His Great Book. I have allowed myself to be transformed by a new job opportunity which fills me with joy each day. I have learned to fast and pray for a specific need and to wait expectantly for answers full of hope. I have drawn closer to the God who provides for my every need and who allows times of rebuilding in order that we may keep our eyes focused on Him.

In this rebuilding I have been able to breathe a little more, give my problems over to Him, learn more about His glorious Word and rely on Him to be in control. Now when I pick up my trowel and my sword to do the work He has asked me to do, I have strength in my hands to do His will.

For those of you who have consistently read Grace and Strong Coffee, I hope you have enjoyed a break from my stories and are filled with a craving for knowing God more closely, as I jump back in. I pray you are ready to receive my rebuilt blog ideas and be filled with hope as you are encouraged to draw closer to the Giver of grace who is overflowing with love and compassion.

God’s grace is so good we can’t stay away from it long. It is so near we can view, comprehend, and handle it even when we are rebuilding and finding renewal. God’s grace is the complete joy and hope I have in this short life here on earth. Living in God’s grace is worth every pile of rubble we may stumble into and is significant enough to continue to pick up the hammer and plunge forward towards it each day. It is not enough for us to stay in the piles of dust and ash of a life overwhelmed; we must pick up and begin moving towards the Fountain of Grace that is racing toward us and begin to rebuild with strength in our hands to do His good work.