Parallels: Home and Spiritual Renovation (The Vision and the Plan)
(This is part 2 of a series on what I learned through the process of renovating our home, and the parallels to a life yielded to and experiencing God’s work in renovating our life and spirit)
Step Two: The Vision and the Plan
As my wife and I decided to move forward with investigating home renovation projects, our next step was to come up with the vision and plan for our house, including components and estimates. This Bible verse was one I relied on during the process:
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3)
Over several weeks I put several different design concepts on paper until I arrived at one that best fit our needs. I put masking tape on the basement floor to mark future walls and drove a few stakes in the yard along with spray paint to mark the outline of a future 3 season porch. Because of building code requirements, we hired a design company to take my preliminary drawings and turn them into proper construction plans and specifications.
At this point I wasn’t 100% sure this was what God wanted for us, so I prayed for His confirmation before moving ahead. During my prayer time I felt peace and assurance about this project. So I then began the task of estimating the cost of the project. In construction projects—as well as our spiritual and life journey— this is extremely important . Jesus once said:
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28)
When the estimates and quotes came in, it was thankfully clear that it was within our budget, as we had money set aside from the sale of our Florida house. I knew that there was much of the work I could do myself, with help from a few family members and friends. There were other areas of construction that were outside my skill set, so I interviewed some contractors to do those things. Soon a team was assembled.
In our life, it’s important to first bring our ideas and plans to God—not just for His blessing, but especially for His will. He sees much more that we do, and may direct us to stop, wait, or proceed; possibly guiding us to proceed in a way that we hadn’t initially envisioned or planned. I’ve learned from experience how important it is to listen to and follow God’s lead. When plans proceed without God’s hand on them, they usually don’t end well.
Just like a home renovation project, there is also cost to following Jesus that may require taking steps of faith in our life. Even when those steps mean we must leave something behind, His presence and plans for us are so much better!
God bless you!
Chris Atkins
(Next week: Some demolition required)