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A Sense of Accomplishment

By February 22, 2015August 30th, 2022Devotional

When I was a young boy, I just loved to build models, invent things and work on anything that had to do with tools. Although I built several model cars, animals and planes, I really enjoyed working on ships and boats. Although I did complete a huge model of the “Visible V-8 engine”, a working model I might add, my crowning achievement was building the Cutty Sark, a schooner that was very complex, took months to complete and was all done except for the rigging. One day as I was re-arranging my bedroom, I set it on the bed to make sure it didn’t get damaged. Just then, Mom came in to talk to me and – you guessed it – she sat on the bed and crushed it to pieces – in fact, smithereens. There was no way to repair it and I chucked it in the trash. That was the end of my model building career – right there, on the spot.

That didn’t dampen my desire to work with my hands, but I turned to more creative things, such as model railroads and things that I could repair when they broke. My maternal grandfather was largely responsible for my love of tools and to be perfectly frank, my Dad hardly knew a screwdriver from a hammer. In fact, whenever we needed something, we would head to Grandpa’s house and borrow whatever we needed. I became more and more interested in working with my hands and when Grandpa passed away, I inherited most of his collection of tools – amassed over a lifetime of tinkering, building and fixing.

For the past twelve years or so, we lived in a place that really didn’t allow me the space to have a workshop, so I got out of the habit of fixing things. Then, this past year, we moved and I once again have an awesome workshop. I’m still a little lazy when it comes to wanting to fix stuff, but gradually the old skills are coming back. And therein lies tonight’s story.

You see, Janet has been all over me to assemble a headboard for our master bedroom and I have been putting it off. In fact, I made arrangements for a handy man to do it, but he couldn’t get to it until next week and that wasn’t good enough for Janet. So Saturday morning, I got out my trusty tools, read the instructions and together Janet and I constructed the furniture that we had ordered and had been delivered last week. It took longer than I expected, but that’s the same way I felt when I used to assemble the kids’ bicycles and Big Wheels when they were little and it was late on Christmas Eve. Finally, the assembly of the headboard was complete and I have to admit that I had a real sense of accomplishment.

As I replayed the whole chain of events in my mind, it was so obvious to me that I didn’t want to get down to the business at hand. But once I did, I felt a real sense that I had accomplished something. And I got to thinking about the way I studied the Bible and my devotional time with God. Too many times, I have a difficult time getting started when I know that I should be communing with God. I make excuses and find other things to do when I know in my heart I should be in prayer or studying, or even writing…

But you know what? Every time I make the effort to spend time with the God of the universe, I feel refreshed and have a real sense of accomplishment. Kind of like finishing a project, only much better. Our verse for the evening comes from the book of 1 Corinthians. We are told by Paul, in 1 Cor. 6:17, “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” My encouragement tonight is that God wants us to think of Him all the time – not just once in a while or when we don’t have anything else better to do. My prayer is that you will grow to love your time with the Lord and will look forward to every opportunity to spend some quality time with Him. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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