I live in a house with no crown molding, and that’s a source of embarrassment to me.
I currently own 2 houses, one of which I no longer occupy. Haven’t for almost 2 years, actually. During that time, it’s been either on the market or rented out. And given that it’s smack dab in the middle of one of the worst slumping housing markets in the contiguous 48 states, it’s been severely devalued. So much so, in fact, its market value is less than half the principle balance of the hefty mortgage I assumed when buying it several years ago. It’s a sad state when you can say with a straight face that a brand new Lincoln Town Car has held its value better than my house has over the same period of time. Nevertheless, sadness is reality, and like so many card players that have gone before me, I was dealt a less than desirable hand. And yet, a lousy game of cards is better than sitting on the sidelines critiquing those who had the fortitude to ante up.
So, because of the sorry state of things, I cannot afford to fix up the ‘fixer upper’ that I currently inhabit. As a result, there are a few details that we’ve neglected, such as crown molding, new bathrooms and a renovation for a kitchen that still houses appliances from the ‘Leave it to Beaver’ era. For this, I am often more than a bit ashamed that I’m not able to provide a better life for my beautiful wife and our 3 adorable children.
I didn’t plan it this way. In fact, looking back, there are many things about my life that I didn’t anticipate. When I was a starry eyed twenty two year old with college diploma in hand, I, like most other American dreamers, wanted my piece of the pie – nice Victorian house in the suburbs, 6 figure salary, kids in the best private schools and summer vacations at our beach house in the Florida panhandle. But, somewhere along the way, I was derailed. No… actually… I was sabotaged.
(Here’s where I probably lose about half of my reading audience. Please you 4… don’t stop reading… I promise I won’t whine… this actually is about to take a turn in a very positive direction!)
I wasn’t derailed by downsizing or an unexpected child or even an unorthodoxly stubborn wife, who refused to play that game the way that I wanted to, although I’m sure she’ll admit to being both unorthodox and stubborn, all the while playing no one’s game but her own. Instead, I was sabotaged by a God who would go to great lengths in order to disrupt my life as long as my life is devoid of His very best for me.
I probably couldn’t satisfactorily describe for you the ways in which God has been ‘tinkering’ with me, so I won’t even try. Any argument I could make would likely be met with skepticism by the agnostic, or even the hyper-religious. But I don’t have to explain myself to anyone, and deep down in the places that matter the most, I am confident that God is the One who has, at times, frustrated me in my attempt to fill my life with all the bells and whistles I have so desperately sought. And please don’t hear me wrongly… God is not opposed to bells and whistles. In fact, I honestly believe He created anything and everything we call good, and in a perfect world, we’d have every bell and every whistle our heart desired. But the problem is, we still live on this side of idealism, and many of us (myself included), have a tendency to pursue toys more than we pursue the One who dreamed us up before time began.
As I’ve come to grips with this merciful and beautiful Saboteur, I have begun to realize that this life has an etherial, temporary quality that pales in comparison to the tangible substance of eternity. I am here for just a moment, though I’ll one day linger on the other side. My time here is preparatory. I’m in the King’s schoolhouse, learning the ways of royalty. And the more earnestly and completely I reach for Jesus in the midst of this life, whether it’s a life with or without bells and whistles, the more completely I’ll reign in eternity.
Whoever we are, whatever our story, God has placed us within a certain specific context of history. That context is not for us to choose. It’s His story. But who we are and who we become is up to us. Will we be all that He intended when He first dreamed of us? Will we say yes to Him? Or will we fight to have our way, even when our way isn’t His way? The choice is ours.
I live in a house with no crown molding, but I’ll take Jesus over woodwork any day.
