The House that God Built

Scripture: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

I have had an amazing couple of weeks. I have seen God truly in action over the past 3 months, but during the past two weeks He has made His precious presence ever known through my church family in ways I never expected. I sense that as I write this, it’s going to be hard for me to not tear up, because what I have experienced has left me feeling overwhelmed with the Father’s love as shown through my sisters and brothers in Christ in ways unimaginable.

My best friend and I recently pooled our finances and purchased a home in the town I grew up in, a town that carries many, many childhood memories for me. It’s the city that has always enveloped me when I visit, and no matter how much it changes and grows, it will always be “home” to me. I have bounced around Ventura County since I moved out of my mom's house, but no place is like my hometown, Camarillo.

Through our wonderful realtor friend from church, we purchased a home that was solid, but needed a lot of cosmetic work: paint, minor repairs, screen doors, a good lawn mowing, tree trimming, did I mention paint? I knew it was quite a bit of work, but once we rolled up our sleeves and really dug in, it was a LOT more work than I ever expected!! I had no regrets, but rather, it was just a bigger challenge than I had anticipated.

Have you ever dug into a project with one result in mind and discover a whole NEW project underneath? The kind of project you step back from to assess and go, “Uh oh, this is a little more than just …. “

There was a lot of that.

But over the past two weeks, we were on a deadline, as escrow closed unexpectedly late, and we needed to be out of our apartment or pay rent AND mortgage. My friend and I were running on 4 or 5 hours sleep and a lot of Starbucks drinks to keep us going, all the while, going to work 8-5. By the grace of God we didn’t get sick from running ourselves down so bad.

But my amazement comes from our friends who not only offered their time, but for two weeks, they pretty much gave up their normal, daily routines of LIFE just to help us out with a laundry list of things that needed to be done, even as the list unexpectedly grew. Every night, I went to bed, feeling not only good that a lot had been accomplished, but that we had friends who were showing up day after day and DEVOTING time to our little home to get it up and running.

I am proud to say that ours is The House that God Built. I say that, because if it wasn’t for our church family, our job would have been much, much harder. Not only with the furniture coming in, but also, we didn't have all the skills needed for some of the repairs. Mind you, we are two hearty, can-do women, not afraid to learn how to operate a table saw, willing to work a drill and caulk our own bathtubs and showers (no more calling the apartment repairmen for this stuff!!).

But God brought around us people of different skill levels and abilities, and some who couldn’t do repairs, came over and fed us and our little “crew”. Some people were able to show up a lot, others came over once or twice .. but every moment was precious to us. As the two weeks came to a close, and the house was transforming into a beautiful home in record time, I couldn’t help but think about how much this house was being built with so much love, not only for my best friend and I, but these people are believers in Christ whom we’ve made connections with within our church, and I felt that God really shined through our friends as they donated so much time to getting our place in shape.

We missed 2 weeks of church in the process, and last Sunday morning, I woke up for the first time in "my house". It felt great. And I don’t think I will ever take for granted the tender work that went into each room, from laying floorboards, to painting walls and ceilings, to replacing faucets and repairing a backed up sink and rebuilding a beat up and broken fence, and even that fan that is twirling in my bedroom and the new locks in every door. I walk through the house, and I know who did what, and they did it out of love; they freely gave their time and energy, and I am overwhelmed.

I sat in church last Sunday, and it was the first time in two weeks I actually RESTED. As the worship music penetrated my soul, and the peaceful feeling of accomplishment and rest washed over me, came a tidal wave of emotion as our helpful friends sat on either side and behind us at church – it all hit me how loved we are. I began sobbing and barely contained myself, because what I felt was the Father’s love through the people I was surrounded by. It was nothing less than overwhelming.

What we experienced was God's love in action. As I explained to one of my dear friends why I was crying so hard, she reached over to me and said, "What you feel is only a fraction of the Father's love for you."

There are no words to describe being the recipient of so much love. How profound that the love that drove me to my knees from those around me is only a fraction of the love God has for me. My mind cannot fathom such love. But I am grateful to be in His kingdom, and for those who shared such love and joy with my best friend and I.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the love You have demonstrated through Your faithful servants, these friends you have brought into my life. They have shown Your love in such mighty and practical ways. Motivate us to continue helping others in need, and showing Your love in our actions with others. Help us all to continue to be a witness to who You are, and help us to share with others the love you have for them! Amen