Don’t Trust the Truss

“You need to trust Me.” That was the answer I heard in my spirit to my dilemma of a heavy snow load on my roof. The snow had been falling for quite some time and its effects had left the roof of my house with at least 24 inches of snow.

This would not be the only time I would hear those words.

 

Normally through the winter, several times I would borrow my neighbor’s 28 foot ladder and snow rake to remove 2-3 foot piles of snow on my roof (three stories off the ground). This was part of the maintenance requirements of having an old house that was inadequately insulated. And it was something that I really didn’t mind doing.

 

But I had an injury that was preventing me from being able to use a snow rake to get the snow off my roof. I knew that unless I got the snow off the roof, I was in danger of having ice dams form and possibly leak into my house.

 

I also knew that I couldn’t trust the trusses of my 1912 home to be able to handle continual snow being piled up upon it. And so I would go through several months of the winter seeing the roof and wondering just how much would be too much before the water would find a way into my house as I watched massive icicles forming on the edge of the roof.

 

“You need to trust Me (not the truss);” again would be the answer as I would hear the weather report of more snow coming and I would wonder just how much those old trusses could actually hold.

 

Those simple words; “You need to trust Me” came not as a scolding but rather as a “peace that surpassed all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7). And it was my choice whether or not I would choose to put my trust in God or in the trusses.

 

Eventually, we had a February thaw and the snow melted off the roof; or at least to the point that I could trust the truss and breathe a little easier.

 

A few days later, we had a snow storm that left three to four foot drifts on the roof. It was one of those snow falls that started with freezing rain and then dropped so much snow that we couldn’t get out for several days.

 

And once again, “You need to trust Me” would be the answer I heard in my spirit as I heard that one of my neighbors had hired a company to remove the ice dams on her roof.

 

Finally, when March brought warm weather and the roof became clear, my sprit sighed knowing that (perhaps) the roof was finally clear until next winter. My God had proven, through a simple test, that He could be trusted to take care of me. And the application could be applied to all areas of my life.

 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)