Construction Zones
Daily Passage
Reflections
I once built a house of straw and lived in it for awhile on the banks of Mad Indian Creek at a missionary training center known as Servants in Faith and Technology or SIFAT just out side of Wedowee, AL. You can go visit it today. I hear an architect is living in it now. Fresh out of college with a degree in literature, I had a lot to learn as I designed and implemented my plans. But it was not the first time I had held a hammer.
Growing up, I had the opportunity to build a few things. My brother and I were always building forts and repairing the fence line or barns. I remember my dad showing us how to build a very nice lean-to. We gathered long fallen pine branches and situated them just so and piled them high with beautiful pine straw that we just pulled from the forest floor at our feet. The only thing manmade in that construction which was very warm in the winter and cool in the summer and dry and cozy within in all types of weather, was a little bit of twine. A few years later, my mom helped us build a larger construction, a tiny log cabin. As big as some of the tiny houses advertised today. And we built may other forts too. So, it was with confidence that I worked on my house of straw.
I have always been drawn to building things. As a child in kindergarten, I remember always choosing to work with the building blocks instead of with the play stove and pots and pans or dress up or doll options that the other girls chose. I remember it was Tim and Donald and me every day in the blocks corner building away in delight. At home I loved to work with Lincoln Logs and Legos. I even had a brief fascination with digital building in the game Minecraft in my older years.
Just this last summer, I had the opportunity to work in construction again, and I loved it. A small garden shed on our property was in a sad state. It was leaking and the roof needed repair. I had gotten someone to help, but on the first day on the job, I realized, he was not going to work out. With half of the roof gone, there was nothing to do but to dive in a take on the job myself. I did and the outcome was beautiful! Well beautiful for a small garden shed! But also, beautiful in the fact that I accomplished something that I wanted to with a lot of hard work. And I did this after being so many many very many year out of practice. I am much older now.
I enjoy working with my hands to build things. And in this Book of Proverbs, I read the first line and I stop: “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Lady Wisdom is often described as building her house. That is really and unusal description of a woman at that time. In Proverbs 9:1 we read the other day: “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars.” The description is one of constructing a physical building. Don’t you think that this is an odd description of a woman’s activity in that time? I do. The house is clearly a metaphor. She is constructing an environment where she can live and also where she can invite people to come and enjoy her wealth. It’s her vibes. What vibes are you working on? Are you building up or tearing down?
So much of what we do for ourselves is important for the building up of the world. If we first build our house, then the world around us can be invited in to dine. That seems to be the precept communicated here with this parable of Lady Wisdom. I think of the quote by Lao Tzu and will paste it here. “If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.”
To build good vibes, one must practice self care. Our house could be our own body. We build it up healthily with good food and exercise, plenty of sleep, and sunshine, and taking time to enjoy doing the things that we love to do. Our house could be our mind. Building the mind involves freeing it of doubts and worry, voicing daily affirmations and mantras, and feeding it with good images, words with others, and literature. Our house could be our spirit. Building the spirit involves first having a healthy body, but also practicing energy cleansing activities such as meditation or yoga or qui gong or something similar. Self Care involves living the life we love. Are you doing all of this? Are you building or taking away? When we do all that we do to get to a place where we feel so cared for and loved by our own actions, it is then that we radiate out to others this same warmth. This same love and joy we have for and in ourselves, it is there in surplus for others. Is your house so beautiful that you can welcome others to spend time in its spacious beauty? If not, it’s time to get to work. Roll up your sleeves, and take this hammer. Join me, it’s fun!
build
The wise woman builds her house
Proverbs 14:1
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for my ability to build.
I am thankful for my ability to work with my hands and to do the things I enjoy.
An give thanks for all of the tools I have that allow me to do the things that I love to do.
I am thankful for my life experiences that have brought me joy.
I am thankful that I had loving parents who also loved to work with their hands and showed me how to build.
I give thanks for my time at that missionary train center in Alabama and what I learned there.
I am thankful for my ability to learn.
I am grateful that I thrive when I live the life I love.
Questions to Consider
What is it that I am building in my life?
Am I tearing anything down in my life that I should be supporting?
What are a few self care practices that I can implement into my life that ensure that I am building a healthy body, mind and spirt daily?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me. Let’s build a better and better world together starting with ourselves. From my heart to yours, namaste.
“If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart. ”