Under Construction...


I was on my way to pick up a friend this morning, and drove by the house pictured here. Under construction, it intriqued me enough to want a picture of it. I've always had a fascination with homes that are under construction...a fascination that seems to be limited to homes, because I have no similar interest in commercial construction.
The process of building a home is endlessly interesting to me.


I built a home in 2005, and remember how fascinated I became with every step in the process...the framing, installation of windows and roof...drywalling...and in this part of the country, the brickwork. Have you ever stopped and watched a bricklayer work? There is something about the precision and angles, and cutting of the bricks to fit the space that I love to watch...it is a craft! Just thinking about it makes me want to build another house!


As I've thought about the idea of fashioning the life I want to live, I'm reminded that I am myself a 'construction zone.' I am making daily choices about what kind of bricks to use, what color wood to use on the cabinets, how to paint...and an endless array of options from which I can construct my life. Every choice has a cost associated with it, and so I'm reminded that I must give serious thought to my selections, lest I choose things that I cannot afford.


What about you? What are you building? Will you live your life in the "house of your dreams," or drifting from one dilapidated shack to another? Remember, I'm not talking about the literal building you live in, but the "life you are constructing for yourself"... I think it's reasonable to suggest that if you plan well the construction of your life, the quality of the building will take care of itself.


Every choice...financial, spiritual, relational, and physical...every choice has a cost, and every choice has an impact on the quality of the final product.


"But you don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?" -Luke 14:28 (New Living Translation)

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