I don’t know if I can admit this: I read the directions. Well, I read most of the directions. Well, I think I read the directions – I just didn’t look closely at the diagrams.
Have you ever bought one of these pieces of furniture in a box? One of those articles you take home and assemble in “a few easy steps?” We did. It was a beautiful black book shelf and it fit our plans so well and our budget just as neatly. What could go wrong?
I had two thirds of it put together when I hit my snag. No big deal, if it doesn’t slide easily into place, a little extra force will compensate for the difficulty. Unless you end up having to glue parts back together. And it still didn’t fit.
Then I had this bright idea that if it is too big, saw some of it off. Partial disassembly was followed by a trip out to the garage. Bring out the power tool, connect to the power cord, a couple of caution checks to be on the safe and careful side and trim that baby down! Now it will fit. And sure enough it went together. But with a gap that displayed all too prominently the rough edge of my not so skillful skill saw cut. Now what? This is getting irritating.
Well, we can address the aesthetics later. For now, continue with construction. Anyway, that set of pre-drilled holes is in the wrong location. (This is when I discovered that I had flipped the board 180 degrees.) Out comes the drill and now I am drilling my own holes when I should have been able to use someone else’s.
Assembly complete. The wonderfully helpful wife steps in to complete the cosmetic touch up. And the unit is settled into its new home. Finally. This two hour project only took four. And all because one small set of details was overlooked.
I wish I knew what the lesson in all this is. Is it:
“Read and follow instructions,” or
“Details are important,” or
“Always allow more time than your original estimate,” or
“Pay someone else to put it together,” or
“You don’t have enough handy friends?”
Whatever the correct answer to my question is, I think I will have to be attentive to the full set of directives supplied for my next project.
Would there be any spiritual lesson lodged in the above scenario for someone who is following Jesus? If I wanted to put a theological twist to this I would probably say something like ‘every believer will wisely accept the full counsel of God’s Word to guide them in all their choices, not simply choosing the parts they find most easily accessible or palatable.’ And that would be valid, but I think we can say this in English.
Be sure you listen for all the instructions God has for you before you launch into whatever it is He has you doing. You could cut your work in half. I’ve seen this principle at work recently.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Unmoved
It was windy, beyond breezy by several lines on the gauge. I was standing in my back yard looking up at a huge and still bare tree. Although the winter temperatures were past and other trees were in full bloom, this pecan was yet to show any significant signs of spring life.
The stark, naked limbs swaying in the wind against a clear blue sky pointed out a valuable perception. Not everything on a tree moves when the wind blows. And not everything in our lives should move when the exterior pressures elevate.
I must have a solid base, firmly rooted, from which to respond when life pushes me around. Sure, there are lesser extensions of who I am which necessarily must flex with the times, just as the smaller and most extreme branches do. But that can never be the sum of my life. A tree is not small branches. A tree is roots, and trunk, and large limbs, and smaller limbs, and twigs, and leaves.
Within each of us, some parts have to bow and bend. Others do only at great risk to our ongoing survival. God’s design for trees and for us includes both what should give and what should never give.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 17, 2009
The stark, naked limbs swaying in the wind against a clear blue sky pointed out a valuable perception. Not everything on a tree moves when the wind blows. And not everything in our lives should move when the exterior pressures elevate.
I must have a solid base, firmly rooted, from which to respond when life pushes me around. Sure, there are lesser extensions of who I am which necessarily must flex with the times, just as the smaller and most extreme branches do. But that can never be the sum of my life. A tree is not small branches. A tree is roots, and trunk, and large limbs, and smaller limbs, and twigs, and leaves.
Within each of us, some parts have to bow and bend. Others do only at great risk to our ongoing survival. God’s design for trees and for us includes both what should give and what should never give.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Smelling Like a Rose
It was a near miss – almost frightening! There was only the smallest amount of liquid soap in the bottom of the plastic dispenser. Previously I had noted the need to refill the shower soap bottle, but had forgotten to do so after my last shower. Now I was down to the last 1/16th of an inch of my own generic scented lotion.
What was so scary was the fact that my only other option at the time was my wife’s floral somethingorother lavender shaded soft soap. Eeeee! I could have come out of the bath smelling like a rose or some other species of flower or worse maybe even like an entire bouquet! What would the guys have said after one single whiff of that sissy stuff on my body?!? I tell ya’ – it was close.
Disaster is often averted by such narrow margins. Have you ever pondered just how often God protects you from truly unpleasant events? The time you changed lanes without looking over your shoulder and God had an alert driver in the other lane. Or the moment you bent your head to the left as the baseball whizzed by on the right. Or…you fill in the details.
The extent of God’s loving care for each one of us will remain unknown to us until we are safely passed through to heaven’s side of that famous pearly gate.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 10, 2009
What was so scary was the fact that my only other option at the time was my wife’s floral somethingorother lavender shaded soft soap. Eeeee! I could have come out of the bath smelling like a rose or some other species of flower or worse maybe even like an entire bouquet! What would the guys have said after one single whiff of that sissy stuff on my body?!? I tell ya’ – it was close.
Disaster is often averted by such narrow margins. Have you ever pondered just how often God protects you from truly unpleasant events? The time you changed lanes without looking over your shoulder and God had an alert driver in the other lane. Or the moment you bent your head to the left as the baseball whizzed by on the right. Or…you fill in the details.
The extent of God’s loving care for each one of us will remain unknown to us until we are safely passed through to heaven’s side of that famous pearly gate.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 10, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Seasoning
They tell me Italian salad dressing makes a great marinade for chicken, beef or pork. You may want to try it. Surely it would tenderize the meat, add flavor, and make the finished dish more appealing. You can just smell that cut coming off the grill, can’t you?
What if we were to marinade our lives in God’s Word – you know, just leave it to soak, to take in all the available richness. There is much in the scriptures to season our thoughts and actions. The result would be a life further tenderized to the Spirit and more attractive to people around us.
What is your commitment to daily Bible reading? I heard recently that the average adult reader can read the entire Bible in 70 hours, cover to cover. That translates into less than 12 minutes a day over a year. I know my daily television consumption exceeds 12 minutes. Let’s you and I season our souls with eternal truths from God’s amazing Word.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 4, 2009
What if we were to marinade our lives in God’s Word – you know, just leave it to soak, to take in all the available richness. There is much in the scriptures to season our thoughts and actions. The result would be a life further tenderized to the Spirit and more attractive to people around us.
What is your commitment to daily Bible reading? I heard recently that the average adult reader can read the entire Bible in 70 hours, cover to cover. That translates into less than 12 minutes a day over a year. I know my daily television consumption exceeds 12 minutes. Let’s you and I season our souls with eternal truths from God’s amazing Word.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
February 4, 2009
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