Housebuilding

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

We were facing yet another problem in our housebuilding project. Our patience and our purses were beginning to wear think.

We hadn't decided to move to a new community and build a new home (by ourselves, no hired carpenters involved) on a whim. Only after much prayer and talk and seeking God's will did we make the move.

But now, one water-filled basement, two broken ribs, several lost cupboards, and many tears later, we were beginning to wonder. Had we missed a cue somewhere? Was thee a direction from the Lord that we had missed? Or, worse, ignored?

We soon realized that worrying and fretting about whether we had made a wrong or a right decision accomplished nothing. We had consciously included the Lord in our decisions-making. We couldn't go back. We could only plug away, night after night, Saturday after Saturday, and finish this do-it-yourself project.

And in the work, in the middle of problems, usually unexpectedly, would come peace. A sense of well-being. A sure knowledge that God was with our family in this new community, in this new and problem-filled house. We hadn't abandoned him, and he wouldn't abandon us.

That's why, as a finishing touch, we had a friend's father cut out of wood those words of Joshua. Today they stretch across the front of our fireplace mantel - a testimony to our friends and a reminder to us:

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

By Jean E. Syswerda, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 1"


Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Proverbs 4-6
Old and New Testaments Together: Psalm 10-12 & Acts 19:1-20
Historical: Psalm 90-95
Chronological: Micah
Blended: Psalm 10-12 & Acts 10:24-48

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible