You and I, we might think it should be easy to say goodbye to old dilapidated homes. The roofs leak (like a colander as one family described it); the sticks and mud need constant replacing; and the black plastic doesn’t help too much in the wind or the rain. The choice isn’t as easy as we would think.
In talking to our families today we were reminded of the memories that have been made in their old houses. They’ve watched children grow. They’ve shared gatherings and played games in their old houses. While it might have been in poor condition, it was home.
The choice to take down their old home before a new home can be built isn’t easy for those reasons and more. One of the families shared that they know of other families whose homes are in worse condition than their own. However those families didn’t have enough faith to believe that a new home would come. They weren’t willing to let go of what they knew in order to experience what God would provide. And so they settle for the way it is instead of being renewed by the new way it could be.
Shelter brings hope through the building of a house that becomes a home where new memories are forged, and new possibilities are opened as people are healthier, safer and protected from the elements. Often the realization of those possibilities involve the courage to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).
Perhaps some of us also need to be reminded and encouraged to let go of something familiar in order to apply ourselves toward discovering the new blessings God has waiting for us.
