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“Building Homes, Building Community”
I’ve said those words a thousand times. At talks and at tables. At Groundbreaking Celebrations. At House Dedications. At the Annual Dinner. Over and over I’ve said those words so people understand our mission, so they “get” what we are about and so they understand what we do.
A few Sundays ago I worshipped with a congregation and was honored to “say a few words” about Habitat. I hoped my “few words” would inspire the good people to volunteer, maybe even to donate a few dollars to build another house. “Building Homes – Building Community” – I shared our mission and our dreams.
They listened and they smiled. A few kindly nodded at my words. I was getting to them! Then I took my seat and worshipped with the congregation. We prayed and we sang. We stood and we sat. We read scripture and we prayed.
I listened eagerly to the works of a pastor I admire. Wearing big yellow boots and standing under bright umbrella, he spoke of things we cannot control, like the weather and of how we cannot predict or control what comes to us. Yet God takes care of us through the storms and in the end we are ok.
I recalled the painful start of our subdivision, Carter Crossing, and of the many congregations, corporations and individuals who waited patiently with us through the delays, and of a few who were less patient. I thought of our Partner Families who waited with absolute joy, faith-filled, even during the delays for thier homes.
And then images of last year flooded my thoughts. Trucks and dirt and wood and windows and drywall and paint and concrete and grass - and of thousands of people who put all those things together to build nine houses.
Overwhelmed by God’s goodness and graciousness, I rejoiced over all those who walked with us through pain and darkness and then who were there to build. Names and faces of volunteers working in the cold and in the heat and in the cold again flashed in front of me. Habitat families working side by side raising walls and smiling from the roof. All of those great people - God’s workers building His homes. God’s workers building His Kingdom.
Yes, we are building homes and building community. But we are building so much more. We build a lot of houses, yes. As we build those houses we also build hope, we build dreams, we build community. And we build faith.
After church, I drove home through our new neighborhood on that sunny Sunday afternoon. Boys raced around on their bicycles. Girls played double-dutch and moms stood outside talking in between chores in their yards in front of homes.
And I knew then, that yes, we are “Building Homes and Building Community” but we are also “Building Kingdoms”, house by house, volunteer by volunteer, so that we can serve Him in all of our days.
-Julie
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