Work in Progress

At this very moment, there is a plumber cutting out a huge hole in my living room ceiling. Last week a pipe burst in my daughters’ bathroom, causing water to seep from the upstairs into the main floor ceiling. It pains me to hear the sound of sawing and I dread going out there to see a gaping hole that will not be repaired for several days.

I am not a perfectionist in any way, never have been, never will be, and really wish I was sometimes. I don’t need for our home to be spotless and I am known for creating piles of ‘important’ matter throughout the house. However, I have a serious problem with having something taken apart and not put back together again; an unfinished puzzle set up in the front room for more than two days can make me feel like we are falling apart. So this hole in the ceiling is going to be a problem for me as we have people over and I have to explain….

I understand that sometimes doing a good job means taking time and not hurrying through just for the sake of completing the task, and I’m all for fixing this problem to the best of ones’ abilities but it’s pretty clear to me that I do not like for others to see work in progress. After the fact, I enjoy describing all the work that went into getting better and the triumphant feeling of completion, I just don’t care to share it while it’s going on. My pride can get in the way.

The truth is that we are all works in progress. Each of us should be constantly pushing, risking, straining to be better than we were before, with gaping holes and puzzle pieces missing. And we need to be ready to share with others the areas where we are still working, as well as the places where we have been transformed, to encourage others to do the work, as well.

The plumber just came to me and said the issue isn’t where he first thought it was, now he needs to cut a second hole into the ceiling to figure out the problem. Let’s get to work…

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6