Michele and I are currently working on a part-time project rehabilitating a home in the Charlotte area. We are hoping to raise additional funds to help underwrite the Throne Zone Charlotte that we will be hosting July 28-30, 2011 here in the Queen City.
The rehab of a property is not something new to us. Over the 19 years that we have been married, we have purchased several distressed properties and lived in them while making all the repairs. We would buy them, fix them up, and then move out after a few years of living in the property. This has been something that we have truly enjoyed doing together. We get to use Michele’s designer eye, and I get to use my muscles causing her vision to become a reality.
The project that we are currently working on has been a greater challenge compared to other projects that we have undertaken. This was almost a totally new construction type of scenario. The sheetrock had been partially removed; the kitchen had been ripped apart. Doors were off their hinges, and the exterior was in great disrepair. However, Michele and I realized the potential for this property, and so the challenge began.
I wish that I could say that it has been a piece of cake. Regretfully, I must confess that it has challenged me in greater capacities than others before. It has required more of my time than I had originally calculated, and I have needed more pain relief medicine than anticipated. And although we have not completed the project, we are now close to the finish line and can see the finished project.
While mopping floors and scheduling various contractors for this project, I began to realize that there is a great deal of similarities between this rehab project, and this project of Life.
In this rehab project, there were many things that I could do because of my past accomplishments and training. I could hang ceiling fans and lights. I could pain the interior of the home. I could mop floors and do landscaping and many other sundry things. However, there were things that I had never done before, and therefore needed to call in someone who had experience in those particular areas. This can be a very stressful time because it requires you to trust in someone’s word and in their assumed past experience. I wish that I could say that everyone was able to produce what they said they could, but regretfully we had an occasion or two where these companies could not do what they said they could do. I then very quickly learned about “Angie’s List”. And from that moment on, I used only contractors and individuals who were approved and had great ratings from Angie’s List to complete the rest of our work.
If I must first realize my limitations, then the second thing that I need to do is find someone who can help me achieve my goals by doing the things that I am not capable of doing myself. Additionally, I must place my trust in those who have documented and confirmed (verifiable) successes to help me in my weak areas.
The same is true with our lives. There are things that we can do within ourselves to move toward our vision or change our lives. However, there are many things that we are not experienced in and therefore need to find mentors or individuals with a proven track record who can help us to overcome those challenges so that we can learn from their experience and training and see the overall project completed, and our visions established.
In the instance that I referenced above, I had the opportunity to get angry and upset with the company that was not able to produce. In my mind’s eye, they cost me money and time- two things very precious to me. However, I realized that our cabinet delivery was pushed back two more weeks which allowed me time to have the repair work completed and remain on track.
I had to continually remind myself that, “….all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” When I found out the cabinet delay, it was almost as if God simply said, “I told you to chill, I had it all taken care of.”
But how many times in life do we experience what we interpret to be as set-backs. Things that we think throw us off of our time schedule. When we have been praying from something that we need greatly, but it doesn’t come when we think it should, or when God has given us a promise, and we have been faithfully waiting on it, and it is nowhere in sight, and then it just shows up miraculously.
Remember, DELAY is NOT DENIAL!
Just because something has been delayed, it does not mean that you have been denied. I think about the gestation time of an elephant verses the time for a rabbit. The rabbit can reproduce in around 8 weeks, while an elephant requires 11 months. May I remind you that the bigger the baby, the greater the waiting time.
Some of you have been where Michele and I are right now. You are in the middle of this project of life. There are certain things you can do because you have done them in the past. You have experience in dealing with various situations and circumstances. However, there are some areas that are new for you, and the required some additional reinforcement outside of what you can produce yourself.
I want to encourage you to take advantage of the various resources that God has provided to you during this season of seemingly Delay. Yet, let me caution you not to allow someone the ability to speak into your life simply because they have a title, or call themselves a minister. May I encourage you to do some homework on those you let speak into your life.
For example, if you are in the midst of a financial crisis or meltdown, do not let someone speak into your life who is clueless about finances, give you council. Please don’t get me wrong; while I do believe these individuals can help you pray and encourage you, there is a difference in council and caring support.
The person you need to find is the one who has traveled the road before you, discovered all the detours and pot holes so they can help you navigate through this unknown territory.
For me, I am praying that God will show me who my next mentor is to be. I am actively asking God and looking for those who have traveled the way that I believe God has placed in my heart. And by seeking out those individuals, I can learn what to do and what not to do so that I can become better developed in this project of life and destiny.
Although we are not at the finish line with this rehab project, we are close enough that I can look back and see all that has been accomplished. And as I stop and look around, I can see the great transformation that has occurred. And because of this transformation, the very atmosphere of this property has transitioned as well. You see, all the rooms have sheetrock, new pain, new fixtures, new appliances, new flooring. All things have become new. And during the rehab, we have been saturating the atmosphere with worship. And because I can see the transformation that has already taken place, it gives me strength and encouragement to press on to the finish line that is within sight.
Perhaps this the greatest point of this letter to you. Sometimes we get so busy doing that we fail to realize all the good that has taken place. We are overcome with fatigue for all that we see remaining to do. But today, I ask you to stop for a moment and take inventory of all that you have been through in the past year. All the transition you have undergone. Who you are as a person compared to who you were a year ago- all the battles that you faced, not knowing how to fight them, yet God placed people strategically in your pathway to help you through that storm.
As you recount all of these things, it is my prayer that you find encouragement and hope to continue going the rest of the journey to your vision. Don’t grow weary and decide to stop short of your promise. Keep pressing on toward the prize that is set before you.
Know your limitations
Find a mentor or someone who can help you achieve your goals
Remember that Delay is NOT Denial
Take a moment to look back on all that has been accomplished
Go the Distance
Please know how special you are to me and Michele. We truly believe in the Destiny God has given for YOU to accomplish. We hope that you allow us to walk beside of you, encouraging you to go the distance. Dream big, and keep walking toward to the prize set before you! We love you very much and declare blessing and favor to reign up you and all you do to Advance His Kingdom!
As you sow your seed this month, Michele and I will declare a special blessing over your seed and call for Kingdom Connections and Divine Appointments to be established on your behalf, so that all that God has placed in your heart shall come to pass and be established upon the earth as it is in Heaven.
Keep pressing on even though you are UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
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