After moving into one of my homes, I remember noticing an empty wall in the kitchen that was in need of a little love. I tried to ignore it, I really did, but there it was staring at me, begging for attention. What’s a girl to do? A new place requires new stuff. Am I right? I thought perhaps a little shopping trip to the local K-Mart might solve the problem. 

So off I went to see if I could find a little something to take up some of that empty wall space. And indeed, I found the perfect solution. It was one of those cute little kitchen hutches. All I had to do was get it home, put it together, and voila, instant cuteness. It seemed like a simple enough plan.   

All who know me well know I’m not really, shall we say, mechanically inclined. For me, anything that requires assembly is not quite as easy as the box promises it to be. In fact, if you were to judge my handyman capabilities by taking inventory of my toolbox, the realization would hit you sooner than later. Peeking inside my toolbox right now, you would find two screwdrivers, one wrench, one needle nose pliers, a bunch of nails, and three hammers. (I like hammers because I know what to do with them.) There is also a set of ratchets that someone must have left behind, but I was told I need a ratchet wrench to go with them; go figure. I wouldn’t know a ratchet wrench from a monkey wrench. Anything else in my toolbox would be labeled a “thing-a-ma-bob” or a “what-cha-call-it.” Oh wait, there’s also a popsicle stick. You never know when that might come in handy.

Getting the box containing my new hutch from the car to the kitchen proved to be my first challenge. It weighed a ton. I opened the box and carried in the contents, piece by piece, bit by bit. Once all the pieces were lying on the dining room floor, the real adventure began.  

I took out the instruction booklet and lined up the two million pieces to take inventory. Yes, all the pieces required for assembly were there, plus a few extra screws. I think they must give us a couple of extras so we feel like we got a bargain. Either that or they do it just to mess with our heads. They must get a real charge out of knowing there are people like me who panic when we finally get the thing together and find two extra screws lying around. We scratch our heads and question what step we missed, assuming it must be somewhere between step number 57 and 82.

So now it was assembly time. My first thought was, “Thank goodness for pictures.” But sometimes, it takes me a minute or two to get oriented as to which end is up. For some reason, I often must turn the picture upside down or sideways to fully understand it, but eventually I figure it out. I started at step one and slowly worked my way through the process until I had it completed.   

Somewhere along the line, things started to go so easily that I’ll admit I was getting a little full of myself. I had become a bit overconfident and actually wondered for a moment if I could go without consulting the manual. I totally knew that would be a huge mistake. It’s funny that when my project was rolling along smoothly I might actually think, even for a mere second, that I could put down the instructions and do it on my own.  

As I worked away, suddenly, nothing seemed to line up. The holes didn’t match, and I couldn’t fit the pieces together any longer. I couldn’t seem to complete the next step. Back to the instructions to reread them and look at them from all angles in hopes my mistake would become more evident. It took me a while to figure out what went wrong, but eventually I realized where I had messed up.  

I had missed three significant words, “This side up.”  Words don’t have to be big to be important.

I had actually placed one of the shelves upside down, causing the instructions from that point on to be confusing and inaccurate. It was such a small error on my part, but it had a huge impact. When I went back and reworked the step I had goofed up, I was back on track to complete my project. Due to my little detour, the entire process took me much longer than I had anticipated, but the end result was beautiful.

What do we do when things in our lives stop lining up? We have three choices. We can walk away defeated and do nothing. We can continue on as we ignore the issue and pretend we’re ok with things being shaky, unstable, and off-balance. Or, we go back and try to figure out what went wonky and try to fix it before charging ahead and making a bigger mess. That third choice may take us a little longer, but getting it right is always worth it in the end.  

So, let’s compare my little hutch project to God’s much more important project…us.

Of all the professions or trades available to him, I love the fact that Jesus was a carpenter. He understands blueprints, plans, and directions. He understands foundations, building materials, strength, weakness, and where reinforcements are needed for our lives to line up. We may be able to find a way to complete the project, but it will never be as the creator had intended it to be without help and instruction from the designer. Why do we need God’s help to show us which side is up? Because some assembly is required.

Wishing you joy and peace,

Lorrie

 The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever.  Psalm 138:8