It's not always about me...

It's church day again, and I am hoping to be inspired.  Aren't we all so self-centered, like it's about us instead of God! I'm afraid to say that it's a consistent wish of mine as I drive to the edifice that has occupied my spare time for over 9 months. You see, I volunteer there.  It's what I do. Open mouth, insert foot. "No" is not a word that I am intimately familiar with, especially looking into the doe eyes of the women's pastor. Not saying no was certainly the cause of a major breakdown some years back when my limited "irons" were in one too many fires. But time healed that crisis of faith after several years of hiding from pastors, committee chairs, and other movers and shakers in the church body. My own personal sabbatical, I guess.

So nine months ago when our congregation started building an expansion to our Worship Center AND decided to act as it's own "General" contractor, I volunteered to be the project manager's administrative support for the duration. Why? Because I can do that sort of thing...I am thinking to myself. And doesn't God want you to DO for Him, you slacker?

Let me start by saying that though I was once a semi financial executive (I use the term loosely) of sorts in a multi million dollar corporation, creating budgets and managing health and welfare plans, etc., I had not one drop of experience in the construction industry. Nope, never built anything, never filed a permit, never dealt with an inspector. Who cares what OSHA stands for, anyway?

In the most dismal of economic downturns since the depression, we started a capital campaign and amazingly (miraculously!) God blessed our efforts.  People gave from their hearts and their pocketbooks, and we were able to finish it debt free, mostly under budget and generally on-time. We had a joke in the office about "the Schedule"...

"Are we on schedule?"

"Whose schedule? Yours or God's?"  We were always ON SCHEDULE.

I learned a lot about building that I never knew, and some things that I don't ever want to know or do again. When I was growing up, my Dad was good with his hands, a builder of sorts, and I was fascinated with how he made things fit together.  He also operated heavy equipment, so naturally I was transfixed with all the giant earth moving equipment that crawled around our campus, pushing piles of dirt and making giant holes. And who can fathom 60 foot steel beams fitting together like the pieces of a giant puzzle.  I was fascinated.

I also learned a lot about the people who work in the trade industries - the electricians, the plumbers, the drywall and cement guys. They work hard and for the most part, take immense pride in their finished products. And of course they like to be paid, and that's where I shined..sort of. Funny that when I had a whole bunch of accountants reporting to me, I didn't have much appreciation for the day to day stuff that it takes to keep a company working. So, big shot, let's see how you do creating your own vouchers, assigning account codes, keeping your own sub ledger, fetching proper approvals, filing, copying and all that other stuff you watched others do! After nine months of being a grunt, I bow down and cheer the clerks and administrative professionals of the world, for it would never run smoothly without you!!

As I worshipped this particular Sunday morning, I was humbled that God was able to use me. I prayed constantly throughout the project that it would not be about me or my giftedness, but about Him.  I wasn't always successful, to be honest, but I love that I kept trying to keep my focus on the One who made all of it happen. He deserves all the credit.

Thank you, Lord.

It is finished. 

 John 19:30

Laurel