We have builders at our place at the moment. The timber has arrived, everything is in place – yet it’s taken some days to see any action.
I have been anxious to see these beautiful big posts go up, but instead the builders have been more focused on building deep holes and getting a concrete truck in. Then they’ve been setting in place these big, steal footings, which are going to undergird these massive posts and the structure they will hold.
Boring. I know why they’re doing it but I am impatient and want to jump to the next step. I just want to see them cut past all of this and start getting the aesthetics in place. But they can’t because if they do, they’re going to leave us in a really vulnerable position in the months and years to come when the storms hit and the wind really blows. And I get all of this, but I still want to see results now.
It’s a lot like our lives. We’re impatient for what we want. We want the end right now, and if it means taking a few shortcuts, then so be it. And often we push so fast for it that we get what we want – but then we realize that the foundations were not in place. The storms of life hit and then we’re in all sorts of trouble. Businesses fall apart, cars are re-possessed, homes are sold up, employees are laid off, marriages deteriorate, children stop talking to parents (that one might just be part of the teenage years) and what looked like it was all going so well falls apart. I know I am being a bit dramatic and that this is worst case scenario sort of stuff here.
It reminds me of the scene in Bruce Almighty where Bruce, aka God, just says ‘yes’ to everyone’s prayers. All hell breaks loose as the carnage of everyone getting what they want before they are ready starts to play out.
The Bible tells us to build deep foundations. Luke 6:46-49 tells us to build on the rock. If we do this then we have a solid footing; sure foundations that will come back to pay dividends later down the track. We’re all in a hurry, but the long, slow path builds lasting success.
I think these builders might be on to something. Now for us all to practice it in our lives.
Matt Danswan is the CEO of Initiate Media. He also blogs at www.mattdanswan.com.
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