Parallels: Home and Spiritual Renovation— Dealing with other people’s mistakes
Recently, my son and daughter-in-law asked for my help installing a fence around the perimeter of their house. Their son (our grandson) is a special needs boy who is now crawling and exploring the outdoors. His mom and dad rightly wanted to protect him from wandering into places that might be unsafe. My son prepared for the job weeks ahead of time: The utility company marked the underground gas line, and the city informed him no permit was needed for this job. The property lines were marked so the fence wouldn’t encroach on their neighbors’ properties. He rented a gas-powered post-hole digger and cement mixer so we could position and set 22 fence posts during his day off of work.
We avoided digging near the marked gas line beside the house. However, as we started digging the post hole a few feet away, the powered unit bound up as it hit something. I immediately pulled up the machine and moved the dirt away with my hands. To my shock, I saw a yellow gas line, even though we were several feet away from the markings on the lawn. Upon inspection, I saw the line was untouched, with no gas smell or hissing. Nevertheless, we immediately called the utility and stopped our work. We then prayed about the potentially dangerous situation that threatened to derail our work.
When the gas company team arrived a short time later, they used a gas “sniffer” and other sensing equipment to evaluate the situation. Later, we were given the all clear and were informed that the gas line we encountered was an old, disconnected one that should have been removed when a newer line —the one close to the house— was installed. Someone from their company had made a mistake in not removing it when the new line was installed. The utility workers proceeded to cut the old line so we could continue our work.
My son and daughter-in-law were gracious throughout the process and even offered the workers bottled water. We prayed during the entire time of uncertainty and asked God to enable us to complete the work after this lengthy delay. By God’s grace, we were still able to complete the work of setting the fence posts later that evening.
We will encounter problems in our lives and walk with God, some of our own doing, but others due to other people’s misguided choices and actions. We can’t control other people and circumstances, but we can choose to turn to God and allow Him to work in and through us in those times. It helps me to remember and even say aloud, “God is in control,” when unexpected things happen, even those caused by someone else. He has all the resources and power of the cosmos and heaven in His hand—and He loves you and me! With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for handling unexpected situations:
1) Pray first. Entrust the unexpected situation to God.
2) Ask God what He desires from and for us in the situation. God may simply want us to watch and see His power, or ask us to yield to and join Him in His work.
3) Ask for and be willing to receive help from others who may be more equipped and gifted to handle the problem.
4) Display hospitality and gratitude. Seek and display God’s peace over the human inclination to complain.
5) Whether it takes minutes or years, expect God to answer you, and remember that His faithfulness in the past is the same as His faithfulness today and all our tomorrows.
When unexpected things happen outside of our control, remember that God still holds us in the palm of His hand.
God bless you!
Chris Atkins