Spiritual Construction

The process of inner healing, or of recovery, can be compared to the demolition of an old, decrepit and dangerous house and the construction of a new home - a home in which our spirit, our true self will live.

First one has to admit that there is a problem with the old structure, so great that the whole thing needs to come down.  The foundation is flawed and leaking like a sieve, or there is a problem with the surrounding air or water that has contaminated and made the home unlivable. 


Throughout the process of demolition, re-laying foundation so that it is level and true, and building a secure and stable home, there is something that is a given.   Tools.   Each of the tools in the kit gets used in the construction and finishing of the home.  Each one serves a purpose.  And each one plays its part in making a safe place to live.

They have to be used in a specific order.  You can't build the walls before you lay the foundation (they won't stay up and will rot if stuck in the ground) and there are different tools used to lay the foundation than to build the walls.  

Just so in spiritual construction.  Coming to believe that God can - and will - restore us is one of those foundational things, and deciding to give our will and our lives over to His care is another.  There are many steps in the process.  I've talked about these in other posts.

But once the house is built, where do the tools go?  The garbage?  Never to be used again?  No, a house needs maintenance.  Screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, pliers - all useful tools because screws loosen, washers need replacing, faucets drip, and so forth.  


The toolkit is handy to have around.


The spiritual tools we are given to accomplish our extreme home makeover of the spirit, are just as essential to keep around.  I want to stress that these tools are given to us by God.  We have tried to accomplish our heart's renovation / reconstruction on our own, and we've failed miserably.  Only God can accomplish this in our lives. Human effort inevitably ends up in failure because we get so distracted by our own selfishness and fall flat on our faces.  

The spiritual toolkit might be weighty to carry around sometimes, but it's a reminder that we are "works in progress" and that He is the chief Architect and Contractor.  And that what we have is a daily reprieve from our self-destructive tendencies - a reprieve that depends entirely on the maintenance of our relationship with Him.

All that is required is Honesty, Openness, and Willingness.  Simple to remember - it spells "HOW" - and so simple to understand.  

But it's far from easy.