His name was Henry and he was looking for a way to
help us move into our new house. He was a general contractor and I decided that
his skills could best put to use by having him install a "temporary"
shower in the utility room of our basement.
The plan was to have a "temporary" shower
installed in the basement so that when we remodeled the two bathrooms of the
house, we would have a "temporary" shower to use for our daily
bathing.
Henry had the tools in his van and proceeded to
install the shower and run water supply lines and drainage for this
"temporary" shower.
I say "temporary" because, thirty years
later we are still using a shower downstairs in the basement as the primary
place we use for our daily bathing and that we have still not remodeled either
of the two bathrooms even though we have all of the new fixtures to do so.
And, I hate to admit it, we even replaced the first
"temporary" shower stall with a new, larger fiberglass shower stall…knowing
that it would "temporary"! But, just the other day I installed some hooks next to
the shower in our basement to hang up towels. I had asked Cathy and she thought
relocating the hooks to the new location would be a great idea.
After I finished, I decided that I should add a couple
of more hooks as a convenience to guest who would need a place to hang their
clothes as they take a shower. Currently, clothes had been placed on a shelf in
the changing area.
As I was searching for another set of hooks, I realized
that thirty years is not what we were thinking when we asked Henry to plumb in
a "temporary" shower.
Temporary means that something is lasting, existing,
serving, or effective for a specific length of time; not eternal, lasting, or
permanent. Temporary implies an arrangement established with no thought of
continuance but with the idea of being changed soon.
So why is it that we do "temporary" fixes or
changes instead of taking the steps to make permanent and lasting changes? Why
is it that we are content with slapping duct tape on a problem instead of
taking the time to make real, permanent changes?
Why are we OK with letting our lives be held together
with a band aids and butterfly stitches (or Steri-Strips) to hold us together,
instead of seeking real solutions for the problems and addictions in our lives?
My friend, this is not the way we are supposed to
live! In fact, that's not life or living! Jesus said that He came that we may
have life, and that we may have it more abundantly. See John 10:10
Or as Eugene Peterson translated it; "I came so
they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever
dreamed of.”
Today, perhaps you realize that in some areas of your
life it is thirty years later and you are still doing something that was going
to be just "temporary" to get you by until real change could come.
And today it is an addiction or obsession or a habit or a pattern that you
can't see any way out of.
Let me give you some hope my friend. Today is the day
to say; "I've lived this way "temporarily" for way too long!
Today is the day that I will finally get the help that I need! Today I will do
something that will bring eternal change, not temporary!
Jesus wants to bring real changes in your life; if you
will let Him. He is waiting for you to ask Him and He will orchestrate the
process and tell you what to do to cooperate with what He is doing.
Isn't it time to admit that thirty years (or one or
two or five or...) is no longer "temporary" and it is time to stop
and ask for help? Someone is waiting to talk to you.
Call 1-888-NEED HIM or go to http://needhim.org
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