A Higher Rock

“I’m not seeing it.”

Surrounded by wooden stud walls of the home construction site, I slowly turned a full circle, trying to become oriented. “The guest room has an entrance to the half bathroom?”

Nail gun in hand, my husband glanced up from his work spot. “No, the half bath entrance is in the hall. You’re actually standing where the toilet will be.”

Shaking my head in disbelief, I walked through the wall (Superman would be proud!) to gain a different perspective. And then it all became clear. “Oh! I can see it now!”

After spending a morning brainlessly measuring and cutting 2 x 4’s while my sweetheart built walls out of the cuttings, I was trying to wrap my brain around the growing order around us. Months earlier, together we had poured over house plans and blueprints, trying to think through every need and situation as we started down the path of building a home for his parents. You would think after all those hours of thinking and rethinking every wall and doorway, the actual product of our planning would be easy to figure out. Not for me!

Recently, a verse in Psalms 61 jumped out at me: “…lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

From an aerial view, each blueprint-outlined wall would be obviously recognizable. But from a worker’s view with upright wood sticks all around, the project felt chaotic.

Pushing aside those feelings, focus shifted to what I COULD do to help. Boards needed cutting. Scrap wood needed tossed. Construction dust needed swept. Crying children needed tending. Unbeknownst to my uneducated mind, while I dealt with basic tasks, the plan was coming into fruition. By the end of the day, the entire main floor had been framed.

Looking at life, amidst the seemingly menial tasks the Master Builder may call out for us to do, a great work is being accomplished. But without some extra knowledge and perspective gained from “the rock that is higher than I”, this process of carrying out the plan may seem a bit messy.

There is so much peace in knowing that there is indeed a plan. Someone with perfect understanding is in charge of all of this. And it is our privilege to contribute to His work if we so choose!

So next time one of life’s difficult experiences has you befuddled, while you stand in the toilet spot and stare at this new doorway wondering which side of it you’re supposed to be on and where it leads, fear not! “Our faith in Jesus Christ enables us to meet any challenge.”1

When we take time to check in with the Master Builder, He can help us walk through walls, accomplish the impossible, and gain the perspective we need to move forward. Whether in this life or the next, “I’m not seeing it,” really can be changed to “Oh! I see now!”

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)