Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
Superman has his kryptonite,
Samson had his hair loss.....
We all have things in our lives that
can bring us to our knees.
Those that know me,
know that I coil into fetal position
at the touch of a peach.
There is something about the texture of that awful little fruit
that just sends shivers up and down my spine.
It's like chalkboard & fingernails.
My hands are quivering as I write this, just thinking about it.
I live my life in avoidance
of that furry little fruit.
Now that it is the autumn,
I thought I had survived another peach season and could relax once again.
Think again.
As I am reaching the end of my house building,
I thought I had been through the worst
that building a house can offer.
Stuffing insulation into crawl spaces.....
working on hot roofs....
digging fieldstones out of the ground.....
There have been a lot of discomforts this year.,
many challenges.
But none can match
what has brought me to my knees this week.
Drywall
Oh, it's not the drywall itself.
It's the sanding of the drywall spackle.
No, not once,
not twice,
but three times
one must spackle and sand to achieve the finished look to the walls.
I had never sanded drywall before
but the moment I took my first swipe with the sandpaper against the spackle
I knew that I was in trouble.
The shiver went up and down my spine,
my teeth started to quiver,
as I reacted to the sound of the scraping.
You might as well have thrown me into a truckload of peaches.
and then blasted peach fuzz over me.
I'd rather be subjected to Chinese water torture
or electro shock treatments
then face what I had to face with my drywall.
After talking myself off the ledge,
I tried to convince myself that I could do this.
After all,
I needed to do it if I was ever going to finish my house.
Each push of the sander
sent my teeth into a frenzy.
I tried playing music so loud
that I could not hear the scraping.
I tried ear plugs,
to rid myself of the horrid sound,
but I could still feel the scraping.
It has been two weeks and I am still sanding and cringing.
Most people go to their homes to find rest and retreat.
I go home to face my worst nightmare.
I can't say that it has gotten any easier with repetition,
but somehow as I sand
I find that
putting my tongue between my teeth seems to help.
And so does focusing on the promise of my finished house.
Sometimes you just have to face your worst nightmares,
your greatest demons
if you are going to build something
Helping to build God's kingdom
can, no will lead a follower to many moments of challenge,
times of personal discomfort.
It might be an inconvenience,
a sacrifice of time,
a surrender of material possessions,
an expenditure of energy,
ridicule....
betrayal....
death to self..........
No one wants those kinds of things in their lives.
But when you have the promise of something far greater
than the trial of the present moment,
you might be surprised what you are willing and able to do for God.
As for me,
ask me anything,
but just don't ask me to paint my walls a peach color.
And Jesus summoned the multitude with His disciples,
and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after me,
let Him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me."
Mark 8:34
Superman has his kryptonite,
Samson had his hair loss.....
We all have things in our lives that
can bring us to our knees.
Those that know me,
know that I coil into fetal position
at the touch of a peach.
There is something about the texture of that awful little fruit
that just sends shivers up and down my spine.
It's like chalkboard & fingernails.
My hands are quivering as I write this, just thinking about it.
I live my life in avoidance
of that furry little fruit.
Now that it is the autumn,
I thought I had survived another peach season and could relax once again.
Think again.
As I am reaching the end of my house building,
I thought I had been through the worst
that building a house can offer.
Stuffing insulation into crawl spaces.....
working on hot roofs....
digging fieldstones out of the ground.....
There have been a lot of discomforts this year.,
many challenges.
But none can match
what has brought me to my knees this week.
Drywall
Oh, it's not the drywall itself.
It's the sanding of the drywall spackle.
No, not once,
not twice,
but three times
one must spackle and sand to achieve the finished look to the walls.
I had never sanded drywall before
but the moment I took my first swipe with the sandpaper against the spackle
I knew that I was in trouble.
The shiver went up and down my spine,
my teeth started to quiver,
as I reacted to the sound of the scraping.
You might as well have thrown me into a truckload of peaches.
and then blasted peach fuzz over me.
I'd rather be subjected to Chinese water torture
or electro shock treatments
then face what I had to face with my drywall.
After talking myself off the ledge,
I tried to convince myself that I could do this.
After all,
I needed to do it if I was ever going to finish my house.
Each push of the sander
sent my teeth into a frenzy.
I tried playing music so loud
that I could not hear the scraping.
I tried ear plugs,
to rid myself of the horrid sound,
but I could still feel the scraping.
It has been two weeks and I am still sanding and cringing.
Most people go to their homes to find rest and retreat.
I go home to face my worst nightmare.
I can't say that it has gotten any easier with repetition,
but somehow as I sand
I find that
putting my tongue between my teeth seems to help.
And so does focusing on the promise of my finished house.
Sometimes you just have to face your worst nightmares,
your greatest demons
if you are going to build something
Helping to build God's kingdom
can, no will lead a follower to many moments of challenge,
times of personal discomfort.
It might be an inconvenience,
a sacrifice of time,
a surrender of material possessions,
an expenditure of energy,
ridicule....
betrayal....
death to self..........
No one wants those kinds of things in their lives.
But when you have the promise of something far greater
than the trial of the present moment,
you might be surprised what you are willing and able to do for God.
As for me,
ask me anything,
but just don't ask me to paint my walls a peach color.
And Jesus summoned the multitude with His disciples,
and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after me,
let Him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me."
Mark 8:34
.
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