Doghouse

No this is not about being in the doghouse, but building one.  For years we have had a most upscale, uptown painted doghouse in our backyard, complete with leopard painted walls and a red roof.  Seriously cute! But time has aged it and the wood has begun to rot, and Bentley, who is my handicapped 8 year old yellow lab needs a house that is easier for me to clean than crawling through the front entrance. So, I sketched out a paper plan, measuring and copying dimensions and all and set out to duplicate this dog house on my own. A lofty task, seeing that I have never built anything, but after googling doghouses and not being able to find what I wanted, it was build it myself, for no one else in my family seemed to care about this, and they were content to let one I had continue to decay.     

I took my plans to home depot and found someone who accepted this feat as a challenge and I think he was kind of glad to “be busy” with one customer and he was amazing.  He got it; my idea, my drawings, etc.  And he truly worked me through the details of the frame.... lumber, measurements, cutting, nails, brackets, and layout.  And even knew enought to tell me to work in stages so that I did not get too overwhelmed.  He said the framework was the most important part. And it has taken me three days to get that nailed together. 

A couple of weeks later, today, most of the painting has been done,  the last nail has been hammered, the roof is on, the mat is inside and the main thing left are the shingles.  BUT best of all, I moved the old house out and put the new house in its place and went inside to put up my tools and then looked out to admire my work and who should be inside the house head up, but my Bentley! Bless her heart she knew this was being built just for her, and the greatest thing about giving someone a gift is watching them use it.  My heart leaped for joy that she liked it. 

Now, we all know Jesus was a carpenter, and those of us who are not crafted at carpentry really have no clue how skilled  a carpenter has to be to get it right.  I mean there is not one thing plum about this doghouse, and talk about nails, I  just hammered some of them in cockeyed because I couldn't pull them out.  And sawing the angles with the circular saw, close but never perfect. All the while I was building this I was thinking about Jesus, the carpenter.  Of course that would be his occupation; creative, precise, skilled, visionary, wise, architect,  and builder.  His plans are perfect, his are skills beyond measure, his foundation solid,  his cuts precise and everything he builds is plum. 

Now take this a step further and consider how he is building you and I.  One plan, one cut, one nail... at a time and everything that he builds, he builds with lasting purpose.  I cannot help but laugh at my doghouse; it really is pretty good for a first time attempt with no experience, but the whole deal was such a learning experience.  I covered up my mistakes with caulking and trim and painted over the nail heads to disguise my mis-hits. And if you were to look at it, you probably would thing it is pretty good for a girl. But my meager efforts, through well intended, do not begin to compare with God’s carpentry skills. As it is with my life, God built my frame, and he is carefully and methodically building me according to His plans.  God never has to worry about going back and fixing something that went awry, because he never make mistakes. 

We might question his approach, of his answered or what seem to be unanswered prayers, but for every event that happens in our life, God has run it through his funnel of perfection, and he will use it for His glory and our ultimate best.  He nails it with His perfection thought often it may look a little off balance to our untrained eyes, we have to remember that God isn’t finished with us. 

I did the best I could on building this doghouse, and truly with prayer and God’s whispers of encouragement, it sits in stately manner on our back porch. Was it a stretch to even thing I could pull this off? Yes! Did frustration set in when things didn’t line up and I had to cut and recut the boards? Yes! Were there times when I wanted to quit? Yes! So what is so different about these questions and the ones you ask yourselves about daily routines and hurdles?  No much I bet.  We need God to be hanging around in whatever we do.  He wants to be included in our plans, and he might not have the hammer in hand, but he does have a way of securing a mindset that gives strength and courage to the hand who is holding the hammer.  When we try to do things ourselves without God's help, or expertise, or experience,  things are sure to be cattywhompas, and we are left trying to cover our mistakes.  We need God's help at every turn, but we forget to ask.  And when we ask, we have to faithfully believe that he hears us and he will answer;  sometimes in ways that we may not understand.  It is a trust factor in God that he is using tools of all kinds to build within us a solid foundation that we can boldly stand on in confidence.   

And he is supplying tools for us as well:  a hammer to drive in our faith, a saw to cut through distractions, nails to secure our relationship with God, a prying tool to help us get rid of crooked ways, a measuring tape to help us determine if we are lining up with God’s will, and last of all a little paint to cover us in his grace. 

There are many verses about building but these are some of my favorites:  

Hebrews 3:4

For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Luke 6:47-49

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Psalm 127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house, thebuilders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 

Matthew 7:25

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Dear Lord, Thank you for just standing beside me and allowing your presence and the reminders of your word to encourage, strengthen, and guide me in my every endeavor. Please continue to build me according to your purposes and help me be mindful that whatever comes my way is a tool that you are using for your glory and my best. And please keep my tools sharpened and ready to use.  Amen    

                

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!