How to Live in a Construction Zone

Across the street from my house, the road had begun to dip where two concrete sections came together. The sidewalk was sinking too. It happened over a long period of time from settling and the dry Texas soil, so I don’t know exactly when the problem started. But there was no doubt the road and sidewalk were in need of repair.

When the construction crew showed up to mark off where they would need to work, I was excited about the repairs. But as they began to tear up concrete, the scope of the project surprised me. It was a lot larger than I had expected. Although the original problem was only a two-foot dip in the street, the men tore up a much larger area. It turned out removing two whole sections of concrete was necessary to restore the street to its former strength. The same was true of the sidewalk. Only one section of concrete had dropped, but replacing the sidewalk the length of my neighbor’s house was necessary to improve the slope.

I initially looked forward to the repairs, but as the days wore on, I wasn’t so sure anymore. I felt inconvenienced by the sound of breaking concrete as my kids tried to nap and I tried to work. I grew tired of having to avoid the wet concrete as I backed out of my driveway. As the construction seemed to drag on, I started to wonder if the repairs were even necessary or if leaving the road and sidewalk damaged would have been better.

Ultimately, I didn’t know if the inconvenience of living life in a construction zone was worth it. After all, the makeshift ramp to fix the sidewalk worked just fine, and the dip in the road was toward the curb and not something I ever hit.

As I thought about construction-zone living, I was reminded of times when I felt this way spiritually. I have had to face sin in my life and deal with hurt or broken relationships, but once I started to deal with these things, the work was harder than I anticipated. Sometimes God would point out other areas in my life that were in need of change, thereby making the construction zone much larger than I originally anticipated.

In these moments, we can be tempted to throw in the towel spiritually and settle for the unshuffled mess of our lives instead of pushing through the necessary, and sometimes painful, reconstruction.

Recently I walked with a few friends through marital counseling. More than one shared with me that, although counseling was certainly good and necessary, they dreaded the counseling appointments themselves. Those were the days when emotions were stirred up and sin was pointed out. Those were the hard days necessary to walk through, grow from, and endure in order for their marriage to be repaired. But those were also the days they grew weary of the fight, weary of the endurance, and just wanted a break.

[Tweet “Our days in a construction zone are special times to cry out to God even more than usual.”] These are the days when we need his strength, his endurance, and to hold on to his promise that he is not done with us even more than before. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.1:6 ESV).

God is working, even though our lives might have to get messier before we can experience the healing and restoration we long for. God longs for that restoration too. Let’s not give up spiritually before we see it.

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. ^‘You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.” (Joel 2:25–26 ESV)

Lauren Douglas is a wife and mommy to two little ones. She enjoys reading, crafting, and exercise. Most of her days start and end with coffee. She prays that her home and life are led by her faith in Christ. Lauren blogs at faithledhome.com.