“Though our feelings

come and go,

God’s Love for us

does not.”

–C. S. Lewis-–

_______________________

A LABOR OF LOVE

by Debbie Allen

One of the many things on my summer to-do list, was for my husband and I to rebuild and refinish an old, wooden swing-set/jungle gym in our backyard.  It was meant to be a labor of love for our grandchildren.  With this in mind, Jim and I set aside time to work on it, money to buy replacement wood and parts, and the energy needed to accomplish all the hard work required of us for seeing this project through to the end.  What we didn’t factor in was all of the unforeseen snags we encountered along the way. Rotting and split wood, rusted screws, broken monkey bar rungs, and a new cover for the fort that didn’t fit on the roof my husband just finished building. Ugh!

Far worse than any other struggle we tackled, were the temperatures we worked in.  The temperatures soared up to nearly 100 degrees for the duration of the project. As the heat climbed, our energy levels plummeted. So, any board or post that could be disassembled from the frame, was piled on our patio, where I stood under the ceiling fans, painting each piece that came my way.  Unfortunately, that left Jim out in the heat with the skeleton of the swing set, yanking rusty screws from old pieces and sanding what seemed like hundreds of miles of splintery, weathered wood.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.”

(Tony Evans/Instagram)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Because of the fans and high temperatures, my paint dried so fast, I ended up having more down time than I wanted.  By about the fourth miserably, hot day, both of us were disappointed that things weren’t progressing according to our original plan.  We knew we were too far along by now to quit, yet, not far enough along to see the finish line.   Discouraged, my husband headed out to what I’d come to call his ‘Jungle-Jim’ and I sat down on the patio for my morning devotional; before picking up a paint brush. Even sitting in the cool of that morning, all I could think about was the dreaded afternoon heat yet to come. It zapped our strength and made a half-day’s work feel like it should’ve been quitting time.  Trying to stifle the thought of it, I opened my Bible to a chapter in the book of Isaiah and began to pray silently:

“Lord, thank you for overseeing this ‘labor of love.’ I ask again for You to strengthen our hands for this great task and our resolve in this great heat…in Jesus Name, Amen.”

My guess is that I must’ve sounded as discouraged on the inside as I felt on the outside because when I came to Isaiah 58: I knew without a doubt that God was speaking directly to my own heart.  The passage read:

“Then you will call,

And the LORD will answer;”

You will cry for help, and

He will say, ‘Here I am.’

And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your desire in scorched and dry places,

And give strength to your bones;

And you will be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

And [you] will rebuild the ancient ruins;

You will raise up and restore the age-old foundations;

You will be called Repairer…Restorer…”

(Isaiah 58:9, 11-12 AMP) 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched and dry places,

and give strength to your bones.” (Isaiah 58:11a) 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________               

If ever there were a ‘scorched and dry place’ and ‘bones that needed strengthening’, it was my husband and I, in this moment.  The Lord’s timely words rushed over and seeped into all my parched places ‘like a spring whose waters do not fail’!  My strength was truly, renewed hearing Him whisper to my heart, ‘you will rebuild the ancient ruins’ (the swing set); and ‘raise up and restore the age-old foundations’ (the fort). I felt both seen and treasured by this One Who cared enough for me to step into my earthly mess and so gently, renew my resolve to persevere and to honor the crucial roles Jim and I placed upon ourselves to finish for our grandchildren. Only now, we would be tackling our own ancient ruins in God’s strength… as His repairer and His restorer!  

Though the unbearable heat didn’t change that day, and the heavy workload even increased, my heart and soul remained refreshed by both the Presence and the Love of the Lord I’d experienced in those few moments.  I couldn’t have asked for more!  And yet, when I raised my head up from that passage in Isaiah, my eyes fell upon a tiny, pink heart laying against the blackness of the table in front of me.  Now…what are the odds of those two pink petals drifting down from the potted, Impatiens plant above it; to form that perfect, pink heart? Even the eyes of a little ceramic frog, hanging off of the flowerpot, were pointed heavenward! My eyes, too, could only see this tiny miracle for what it was.  A tiny pink heart, Divinely placed there for such a need as this. My heart could only respond to its beautiful message in one way.  Smiling, I uttered softly, “Thank you, Lord… I love You, too.”

Each of us has a tendency to focus so intensely on the circumstances gripping us; we are sometimes blind to what God is doing right in front of our eyes.  You see, God never intends our difficulties and unwanted circumstances to crush us; but to push us closer to Him, to His heart… where we may experience the Love that awaits us there.  When His Presence and Love step down into the details of our life stories, our hearts discover joy and renewed strength, peace, and confidence, even during the hardest of times. For it is our hardest times that become the soils where God’s miracles grow best.  The perfect place for our hearts to witness His Hand turning our “scorched places” into His “watered gardens.”

“My [child], give me your heart and

let your eyes delight in My Ways.”

(Proverbs 23:26)

Dearest Lord and Sustainer of Life, Your Word reminds my heart that “You lavish Your unfailing Love for a thousand generations, on those who love You and obey your commands” (Exodus 20:6).  Your Love for Your children continues to astound me over and over again. It is vast and deep and wide and to be treasured like no other.  Yet, we are so often blind to Your Presence and Your Love in our lives. We too often forget that each one of us is Your own Heart’s ‘Labor of Love’ from our first breath to our last.  Forgive us!  Strengthen us in all our pursuits and difficulties.  We invite you to step down into the details of our stories and help us to see Your Presence and Love at work in all our circumstances.  Wash our eyes with Your Tenderness so that we might see You in a whole new way.  For You are the only One Who can take our “scorched and dry places” and turn them into “watered gardens.” 

In Jesus’ Glorious Name we pray…AMEN