Destruction Before Reconstruction

What is it about men and their toys? My husband and his partner in crime spent the entire day ripping out concrete and tree roots, and excavating dirt. It began simply enough with the tap, tap, tap of a jack hammer as my husband cut away the edges of the driveway from the sidewalk and the garage in order to protect them from the "big boy" that was to come.

When Mr. Bobcat showed up at the house, I could hear a collective sign of envy and a rush of testosterone as the neighborhood men looked on. With a flourish and lots of grins, the work began in earnest with just a short lunch break made by yours truly (yes, at times I can be a supportive wife!). By evening, just about every man in the neighborhood had "casually strolled" by to get a closer look at the destruction and even place a hand on the sacred machine.

All sorts of Biblical application came to mind as I watched this scene being played out. To recap = an offending root was uplifting and destroying our concrete driveway and garage floor. After years of watching the damage slowly increase, we had to take action. So out came the jackhammer and Mr. Bobcat. I couldn't help but think how sin can start out slowly, innocuously, almost innocently. It doesn't seem like such a big deal at the time, but left unchecked, the problem can grow and wreck havoc with the solid foundation of my life. By now, however, it's so ingrained that the Lord has to bring out the big guns to eradicate it. Oh, He may start with a jackhammer to loosen sin's grip and protect my foundation, but to firmly release it's hold, Mr. Bobcat is brought in for the heavy work.

And all the while, others are watching ~ watching the destruction from a "safe" distance. As God begins reconstruction and does a refining work in me, my tarnished lamp begins to shine like a beacon. And those who have been watching are drawn closer to the flame of His healing and forgiving powers.