When we moved into our new home, we knew the inground swimming pool would be a big undertaking. It was in need of being resurfaced. The heater didn’t work (which meant the hot tub was never hot until the dog days of 100+degree summer days). The waterfall features didn’t work. The lights didn’t work and were too outdated to get repaired. Some of the coping around the pool edge was loose and I worried would give way under some unsuspecting guest, tossing him or her into the pool. The decking was cracking.
So, after enjoying our first summer season in our to-be-improved backyard oasis, David and I finally committed to getting the work underway this winter. And, while I was prepared for it to look different during construction, I’m not sure I was fully-prepared.
When I left for work, it looked like this:
When I came home from work, it looked like this:
Gone were the sunny days, the sparkling blue water, the green grass, the shrubbery. It looked like a war zone in the backyard.
Then, a few days later, the contractors came and added some framing. And a few days after that, more workers came to pour in some gunite. So the current status of things is this:
Now, the yard is still a disaster zone. Bits and pieces of rock litter the landscape. There will be no swimming for quite a while. But just having the smoothed out edges where there was once brokenness and rough edges makes it look better.
I’m reminded of a well-known text in Isaiah chapter 4:3-5 that reads: “A voice of one calling: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it.'”
The glory of the Lord is all around us. We just have to look for it in our brokenness, among our rough edges, and God will enter our spiritual desert and smooth our rough edges.
Grace and peace to you as you journey.
Yours in Christ,
-Jennifer
02/09/20