Background picture from product CD that came with Print Shop 6.0
The House@ 1996 By Al Meservy
My wife, Fran and I had been looking for a new house with no luck. We had seen hundreds of homes and floor plans but we weren’t satisfied with any of them. In frustration, we finally decided to design our own house and find a lot to have it built on. We even went out and got a 3D-computer design program so we could do it ourselves. I always was a "do-it-yourself" type person.
Even in my spiritual life I tended to try to do it myself and I was very frustrated with the results. I knew all the right things to do; but I felt like Paul in Romans chap 7 where he always ended up doing the opposite of what he wanted to do. I just wasn’t making much progress in my life and didn’t seem to know the answer to this dilemma. I prayed, went to church, and read my Bible; but always ended up feeling guilty for all the slipups I made. I prayed for God to show me the answer to this.
On my way to work I spotted a nice lot in a new neighborhood that was for sale. I inquired only to find that it had just been sold. I was frustrated again. I really wanted that spot! It felt like I was trying to fight against the whole world. I knew it was really God; but I didn’t understand why.
As I went back and forth to work each day I watched the progress of the construction on "MY LOT". It went very well as the basement was poured and then the framework started to climb upwards. This was going to be a really beautiful two-story home when it was finished! The roof went on and then the outer wood panels, …but then it stopped!
Day after day as I went to work and back I saw the house just sitting there, unfinished and wondered to myself, "Why would someone start such a neat house on a nice lot and then quit halfway through". The days turned into months and summer turned to winter. Then spring came storming in like a lion. However
THE HOUSE just stood there, still unfinished, turning a terrible gray color as all the bare wood seasoned with no protection from the elements. What had started with a ton of faith and hope was now a dull gray monster waiting to rot. I was so disappointed; I had lost "MY LOT" to someone who wouldn’t or couldn’t complete their home.
I started to pray about the waste that was burned into my memory when suddenly a light turned on in my mind and heart. God revealed to me that the house was like my life. It started out real good but was on hold while I tried to "do-it-myself". The house was just the way my life had gone. Started in faith and stopped in "do-it-yourself". I had quit trusting God to arrange things and was trying to work out my own problems. The results were very frustrating.
At Church on Sunday I found myself reminding another person about
Philippians 1:6. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
I stopped short as I realized the verse was as much for me as it was for the other person. God finds strange ways to get our attention.
On Monday as I was going to work I saw the construction crews arriving at the house. In less than three weeks the house was completed and was the nicest home in sight. God was showing me he was in control of all things and I could trust him to complete my life in his way and time.
Fran and I sat down and prayed for God to show us what our real needs were. He did and we found a house that was nearly perfect in just days. It is now our home.
Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.