Laying a Foundation

John, Galen, Bill and Glen could tell you. Those who haven't been carefully observing the finer details of the current building project at our church could ask one of these guys. These four have been there - nearly every day - and they pretty much know what's going on. They will tell you that there definitely is a rhyme and reason to this process of building.

 

We were warned that there would be "a really big hole" out front.

Right - but the reality of that hole appearing only feet from the church's front door and consuming the area it has may have come as a bit of a surprise to some.

 

Rock, gravel, and different types of soils can be tricky things when disturbed and in this wet and runny climate, particularly at this time of year, slippage can easily occur. Expert builders know this, and so a reinforcing corner of heavy-duty ECO-blocks was constructed where the giant hole meets the current front door.

 

Each of these blocks is extremely heavy and they "lock" into each other, similar to a child's building blocks.

Into the space left between this wall and the underlying dirt of the church a large amount of good drainage material was dumped - in this case, it was crushed glass.

Both the recycled glass and the ECO-blocks are good choices for protecting our environment and are another part of what makes this project so special for our little "country church".

The new foundation itself, when completed, will be made of sturdy concrete. The walls and footers for support structures are ultimately what will support the second, or main, story - our wonderful new social hall! We all know how important this foundation is; how crucial its alignment, strength, and composition.

For any building, no matter its size, age, or complexity, is totally dependent on the reliability of its foundation.

Right now, things are messy. There is mud, heavy equipment, noise, inconvenience, and sometimes confusion. It might appear that chaos reigns, but this is all a part of the process of construction.

We, too - as individuals, a congregation, and a church - are like this building project.

 

How strong we are, how supple, reliable, or resilient, is absolutely based on our foundation.

 

Messy though it may be, we are building on the "footers" of those who have come before us; those who follow will build on what we have left behind.

 

And this is true for everyone. As we move forward into this New Year, venture to the edge of whatever your "new project" in life may be and spend a little time contemplating its progress.

As you do so, consider well its foundation - for all that follows depends on it.

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation, other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Don't you know that you yourself are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, For God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.      1 Corinthians 3:9-11 & 16-17