Chapter 36: Building a House

"Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches."

Proverbs 24:3-4

What an excellent week! We saw so many miracles and the hand of God was clearly evident in all that we strove to do. We found some really wonderful new people and just had some beautiful lessons in which the spirit was incredibly present.

Also, this week I got to help someone build a house! It was honestly quite a lot of fun, but really really hard work. Obviously, we didn't build the entirety of the house, but we did carry very large stones up floors of scaffolding for them to then be assembled into the exterior wall of the house.

As I've thought about this experience, it's turned into a sort of parable for me. I wish to express the parable below:

There is a man (or woman) with a task laid before him: he is to build a house. The house is very important, naturally, for it is where he will live, where his family will settle, where there will be shelter from the weather and harsh world, and so much more. Ultimately, this house will be all this man needs to provide the happiness he seeks in life for himself and those he loves.

One very rainy day, the man was so busy with too much going on that he debated wether or not he had time to work on building the house. He arrived at the worksite, stepped out of his car, and found himself drenched to the skin within a couple minutes. It was cold. It was wet. The wind blew fiercely around him, setting his wet skin to ice. With thoughts of turning back running through his mind, the man paused as he put on his gloves. Surely this cannot be worth it today, he thought. But he moved forward, and began to work.

The work was not easy. The work was hard. Heavy stones were to be carried and placed stories high. Earlier, he had built the wood frame and everything else, but now the focus was on the stone exterior. Up and down the scaffolding he climbed, carrying giant stones and placing them one by one along the wall. With every stone he hefted, he felt as if his arms would fall off. With every stair he climbed, he felt his legs shake beneath him. Yet he found that stone after stone, and step after step, he had just enough strength to continue onward.

This process proceeded day after day. Some days he had help. A sister would come to help carry stones. A brother to provide a meal and a laugh. His wife was with him always, maybe not in person, but ever in his heart: supporting him from behind the scenes, carrying him emotionally as he carried stone after stone.

On other days, he was jeered at by passers by. He was left alone to build with nothing but doubts and taunts ringing in his ears. Surely you cannot do this. Who are you to think you can do this? It took all of his willpower not to heed their disheartening and shallow statements. He worked on.

Hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, the wall grew, steadily sprouting as an oak sprouts from an acorn, until the wall was finished, beautiful in its stature and firm in its foundation and function. The task was complete.

The man endured much, labored more, and accomplished all: his house was complete.

Now, the purpose of this parable is not to be perfect. Maybe one day I will refine it, but ultimately the question is what house are we building? The house of our families? The house of our careers? The house of our testimonies? Whatever it is, the parable applies: the work is hard, the opposition great, the doubts high and the vision dim, (and, more often than not, tunneled) but the outcome is worth it.

So carry those stones. Pull your jacket on a little tighter when the rain falls and the winds blow. Hold those who are there to help you a little closer. And ultimately, trust God, the Master Architect, and Christ, the Master Builder. In them there is no other outcome than eternal success.

We experienced this principle this week actually with our friend Tilda. For the longest time, she hasn't been able to come to church because of work. This week, however, against all opposition, she took a step of faith and requested her shift to be changed. Her faith was rewarded, the stone was carried, and she was able to come to church for the first time. Let's just say her house of conversion is being built, and oh what a beautiful house it's turning out to be.

Life is good.

God is wise.

Don't give up.

Elder Childers

Exchanges with Inverness Elders

Aberdeen City

Me and my man Elder Cooper

Pday bowling with Elder Wolf and Cooper with Hristiqna as well!