A Lesson from a Picnic Table

At the beginning of this summer I moved into a house that I would live in for a few months while working in an office on Purdue's campus.  While I enjoy my job, I quickly become tired of spending all day in the windowless rooms at work, so I try to spend as much time as possible outside when I am not at work.

The house I am living in has a little backyard and a picnic table where I spend a portion of my time reading and writing.  However, the picnic table had paint that was peeling off in large pieces at the beginning of the summer.  Each time I sat at the picnic table I wondered if I should do something to improve the table, but I continuously told myself that I didn't need to.  I am only living here for a few months and it seemed silly to invest the time, energy, and money into buying the supplies, stripping the paint, and redoing the table.

I eventually resolved to take on the project, as I wanted to enjoy the table more when I was outside.  I spoke to someone who lived in the house on a more normal basis to get permission and then began the process of peeling, chipping, and sanding the surface of the table.

I spent many hours working through this project.  As I sat outside each night removing as much paint as possible so that a new coat of stain would be able to soak in and protect the table, I wondered if this project was really worth the effort.  It seemed like the summer would be nearly half over by the time I finished.

The picnic table in progress as I chipped, scraped, sanded, and brushed the paint bits off.

 Eventually I realized that it really shouldn't matter to me how long I was going to be able to use the table.  I cannot base my decisions of what to do based on the duration of time I will have it in this world.  Everything in this world is going to be temporary, no matter how nice it looks or how great the quality is.  As a college student, much of my life is temporary: the longest I maintain a particular schedule is 16 weeks and I have not lived in one place for more than 9 months in the past 2 years.

It would be really easy to ignore my roommates' existence for a few months.  It would be easy to decide that it doesn't make sense to grow close to them, since I won't be living with most of them for very long and probably won't see them very often once the summer is over.  It would be very easy to only focus on academics during the school year, because that feels more permanent than people or other activities.  It would be easy to drop club activities, as I could work on other things besides being in meetings for a few hours each week.

But as I worked on the picnic table, I remembered that everything in this world is temporary.   Working on this table enabled me to realize that I can learn eternal lessons from temporary things in the world.  If I hadn't stained the table, I would have never learned that gloves really are a necessity when using chemical paint stripper.  If I hadn't interacted with my roommates, I would not have experienced spontaneous movie nights full of laughter and confusion, gone star-gazing to see Mars early in the summer, or eaten as much delicious homemade food.

Everything in this world is going to fade away.  Whether this happens in a few months or over the course of many years, I want to remember that what really matters is growing, learning, and experiencing God's presence as much as possible.  Even though everything in this world is temporary, I can still learn eternal lessons from it.  I can live in the temporary and build treasures in the permanent.

The fresh stain after a rainstorm a few weeks ago

I stained the table, and now I don't have to worry about getting pieces of paint on my computer as I write blogs or type poetry.  At the end of the summer, when I move out, I will no longer be able to sit in this quiet backyard and watch the squirrels play in the trees or read novels.  But I learned a lesson from my temporary project.  I am learning lessons through the temporary relationships I have with my roommates.  The new tenants of the house will be able to enjoy a nicer table and I'll be able to share what I have learned with new roommates and acquaintances as I continue into my third year at Purdue.  

While everything is temporary, it is not useless if it is done with the focus and glory directed to God. 

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

Ecclesiastes 12:12

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:20

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo

A Summer Contemplation

This summer I have been attending a Bible study with my church here in West Lafayette.  The past couple of weeks we have spent time individually in prayer after the lesson, rather than breaking into small groups.  I have found this time to be invaluable.  While I do try to take time to be in silence with God all year round, the academic year can quickly become overwhelming and rushed, causing my devotional time to become a 5 minute Bible reading with a brief breath prayer before crashing into bed for a few hours in anticipation of an early morning class the next day.  Taking my own time to be with God this summer and this time at Bible study have been great reminders of how important this time is for me.

Something that I've been thinking about for the past couple of months was also touched on in Bible study this Thursday.

I've lived a very large portion of my life like a long checklist to be a 'good' Christian.

Go to church every Sunday: Check.
Go on a mission trip over a school break: Check.
Read the Bible each day: Check.
Volunteer regularly: Check.
Love others: Check.
Tell people you'll pray for them with a reassuring pat on the back: Check.
Participate in a community group: Check.

The more time I spend each day with God, the more I am able to embrace the idea that this has to be about following God with my whole heart and not about dragging my feet to complete the little boxes next to my checklist to be a good churchy girl.  While this is something that I've known for a very long time, this is something that I struggle to live out.  I like checklists and rules.  I have always been pretty good at following them.  They make sense to me.

But when I look at the truth written in the Bible, my salvation doesn't depend on me.  No matter how many of the little check boxes I complete, I will not go to heaven without the grace and forgiveness of God through the blood of Jesus.  Nothing that I do will change that.

Jesus loves me in my brokenness, not because of anything I've done but because of his grace.  I go to church not because I need to follow a sequence of rules but because I have a God given desire to worship God and be in his presence.  The Christian fellowship I experience at church and in a community group gives me an opportunity to experience relationship---an integral part of ministry.  Volunteering allows me to spread the love of Jesus, not because it's something that I'm supposed to do, but because I should be so filled with excitement and joy about Jesus' love that I CAN'T contain it.  I should read the Bible not because it's an obligation, but because I'm hungry to grow and learn about God in new ways.  I should pray for others because it is an act of Christ's love for them.

My life can't be a list of rules or a checklist of things to do.  It must be more than that.  And with God's grace and the guidance of the God-loving people that surround me, that is what my life is becoming.

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo