Bulldozers and Buildings

As I sit in my office this morning, I am watching a bulldozer scrape the ground and load dirt in a dump truck.  They are beginning the process of leveling the ground on our church property so that we can pour the foundation for our new Family Life Center.  It is an exciting thing to watch. 

            Now mind you, I’m not as fascinated today as I was as a little boy watching the work of a bulldozer.  When I was younger I had several Tonka trucks and tractors that I drove all over our backyard, moving dirt from here to there as I imagined building skyscrapers and mansions of every sort.  Given how much dirt was washed down the drain after my baths, I don’t know how any was left in the yard.

            No, the process of moving dirt is not the exciting part for me.  But I am truly excited about the next phase at our church.  We hope that, by the end of this year, we will be able to sit down as a church family to eat, all gathered in one room. We look forward to the well-stocked kitchen, and the outdoor cooking area that will be attached.  This is the culmination to a dream that many in our church have had for some time.

            And we are grateful to the Lord.

            It is true that we have dreamed and planned for this building. We have also given, and will continue to give until the work is completed. But we are aware that all that we have, and will have, is a gift from the Lord. 

            In our world of plenty (and even with a struggling stock market, most of us have enough), we are prone to think of all that we have accomplished.  How we need to remember that it is all a gift. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” All that we have comes from the Lord.  Remember to give thanks. God is truly good.