Lessons in Home Repairs

We discovered an underlying leak in our foundation.  We didn't find it until mold, smaller than my hand print, appeared on the outside of our drywall.  After finding the leak, we discovered that the source of the leak wasn't the minor hole between the two corner blocks initially, but the fact that our gutters above the wall had become bent and clogged over the last couple years and were not working properly, which caused the water to find its home in the corner of our basement.

After having the problem assessed by a home inspector, we know that we will be able to fix it with a little work and money.  We have to cut the drywall and carpet away from the corner of the room, let it dry up and then seal minute crack from the inside and out that the water had been trickling through.  BUT, most importantly, we have to fix the gutters.  The thought of messing up the room by cutting the wall and carpet is so disheartening, because it will get messier and uglier before it gets better and we have to be responsible to make sure everything gets back in order after the leak is fixed. 

I was reading my Bible and praying this morning and thinking about some issues I have been dealing with for a while and this situation popped into my mind.  It has definitely been a source of frustration and I have prayed about it for that reason.  But the reason it popped into my mind this morning was for a completely different reason.

I saw parallels to my life in the situation.  Lately, I have seen a lot of things trickling into my life that I don't like.  I have been trying to "stop the leak" by trying to control the behavior.  All along I have known that there are underlying problems I need to address and that there is time and work that I need to do to make that happen.  But it is just so much easier to coat the top of the issue and not have to "tear out the wall" and expose all of it to make the proper repairs - especially since I have taken so much to make everything look so good on the outside.  I know that it must be done, but, most importantly, I have to deal with what is pouring into my life first.

If the stuff that I am allowing to pour into my life is not beneficial, then it won't matter how many times I try to stop up the leaks.  They will always return.  I used to take time to memorize scripture and I haven't really been doing that lately.  Honestly, I don't even read my Bible half as much as I used to.  Recently, I have been reading it more - not because it is the "right behavior" I am supposed to have, but simply because I am at the end of myself and realize that I have just been going about things all wrong for a while now.  I am reading it now because I know I need it, as the psalm and worship chorus says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after you, oh, God." I am glad that my desire to read and memorize scripture is increasing as I discover my need for it again.  Sometimes I forget that I still need the Bible and God to help me to be a Christian.  I feel like I should have figured it all out enough by now.

But just as my house needs constant maintenance and repair, my Spiritual house needs the same constant attention.  If I ignore it, problems can be masked or ignored for a while, but they will soon surface.  The longer they are left go, the harder repairing them can be.