Parallels: Home and Spiritual Renovation—Persevering to the Finish
(This is part of a series on the parallels between home and spiritual renovation)
There are times in renovation when problems, obstacles, and challenges tempt us to give up and quit. I have seen several home-renovation television programs when someone gets stuck in a half-finished project and is forced to live in a nearly unlivable place until help finally comes along. I never got to that point, but the plumbing project in our basement greatly challenged me. At the end of the work, I learned that perseverance is an essential ingredient to renovation success.
For our basement finishing, I decided to take on the plumbing work myself. I am the son of a pipe fitter and learned a lot about plumbing while helping my dad finish the basement of our house when I was a teenager. He taught me how to fit and “sweat” copper tubing and was a stickler for the careful measuring and placement of plumbing lines. In addition to dusting off the old plumbing skills my dad taught me, I also had to learn how to work with PEX tubing, a heavy plastic plumbing system. I purchased the appropriate materials, tools, and fittings, and before starting work practiced with the various elbows, couplers, rings that clamped together with special rings and a crimping tool.
It was hard and tedious process of planning and running the various plumbing lines and took much more time than I originally thought. My arms ached from holding, positioning, and joining various plumbing runs above my head. There were several tight areas that were hard to access, and I had to awkwardly maneuver tools to successfully join the pieces together for a watertight fit. Believe me, I did a lot of praying as I worked on this project. I had to learn to adapt and keep going, day by day. I was glad when the plumbing was completed and even happier when it passed inspection.
In life we all face challenges. I know many people struggling with challenges much bigger than the small issues in my home renovation. Some can feel insurmountable, like climbing the highest mountain on a distant land. Unemployment, economic setbacks, marriage and family problems, natural disasters, health issues, and more can bring us to the brink of despair…
…if not for God.
I have had to walk through almost all of the challenges I just described. As hard as they were to endure, when I look back, I see a common thread: I was never alone. God was always with me.
In those dark times, I poured out my heart to God. His answer wasn’t always what I expected, but He gave me strength beyond my human capacity, help from unexpected sources, love and friendship from people, and perseverance to keep moving forward.
I’m convinced that real perseverance is a God-given gift, kind of like a spiritual muscle. We can’t generate long-range, enduring perseverance on our own. Instead, God imparts it to us in the fabric of our soul and being as we come in union with Him. As we draw on God’s strength through an intimate, daily encounter with Him, He empowers us with perseverance that we can use in the tough times of life. When our life is in a harmonious trajectory with God, we can endure even the hardest challenges of life that threaten to derail our faith and paralyze us spiritually.
A while back I wrote and recorded a song entitled “Persevere”. It is a song of encouragement to anyone going through hard times, personal battles, and challenges. I have heard from many people that it has helped them, and I pray it will bless you in whatever challenges you are going through right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6i_3vuTS2o
I made the decision to not give up on my plumbing work but persevered all the way through to its successful completion— and also gained new arm strength. God can do the same, and much more in you, regardless of the circumstances. You can endure and come away stronger because of God, as this verse states:
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
God bless you!
Chris Atkins