Tag Archives: self-reliance

Unhandy Manny

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I’m not exactly what you would call handy around the house.  I can paint.  Maybe hang a picture or two.  Anything bigger than that puts me on thin ice.  But somewhere along the way in my flawed education, a well-meaning teacher gave me the wrong impression that I can learn how to do anything just by reading a book.  It’s given me this crazy, false confidence that if I can just find the right book or website, I can figure out how to do pretty much anything on my own. 

Fix the toilet?  No problem.  Install a ceiling fan?  Child’s play.  Add a wing onto the house?  Why not?

Last fall we needed to retile our bathroom, not exactly an easy job for an amateur.   But I figured, hey, how hard could it really be?  I bought a book which explained the whole process in clear, simple steps.  It looked like any monkey with some grout could slap this thing together.  So I went to Lowe’s, bought all of my supplies and took a day off of work to knock it out.

Fast forward to 24 hours later, and imagine what a house would look like if the incredible Hulk had just gone postal in the bathroom.   I had worked non-stop, attempted to do everything just as the book had said and still wasn’t even close to finishing.  Not to mention the fact that what I did accomplish looked pretty crummy. 

I was desperate, so I called in someone who actually knew what he was doing.  I found a guy named Miles who work with tiles (no kidding) to come and save the day.   In a sickeningly short amount of time, Miles came over and did a perfect job.  I both loved him and despised him. 

Mainly, I loved him.  What a relief to have it done and done right.

If the opposite of a handy man is an unhandy man, that would be me, Unhandy Manny.  All of my hard work had been totally pointless.  I was completely exhausted with nothing to show for my effort except a bill and a sore back.

I’ve come to expect this when it comes to home improvement, but it’s really frustrating when this happens in other areas of my life. 

Have you ever found yourself in a season where you’re exhausted, and you can’t seem to get anything done?  It’s like no matter how much you work, you feel like you’re just treading water. If you’re like me, maybe it’s because you’re running ahead of God. 

The Bible says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builder labor in vain . . . He grants sleep to those He loves.”  In other words, life is much better with God doing the heavy lifting instead of me making a lame attempt on my own. 

Whether I’m working at my job, on my friendships, or on my home life, there are moments when I genuinely take the time to let God lead me.  I carve out time to ask Him, “What next?” and trust His timing.  I actually let Him empower me to do life His way. 

Other times, not so much.  Other times, I’m just busy.  I hate busy.  Busy kills my soul, and ironically, I don’t get nearly as much done as when I slow down and invite God to lead my day.  I guess God is kind of like Miles who works with tiles, an expert craftsman who comes in and bails me out when I’ve reached the end of myself.

The Old Watering Hole

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I grew up so far out in the country that we didn’t actually have what we called “city water.”  In other words weren’t connected to a public utility system.  No pipes came to our house.  Instead we had a cistern, a big concrete tank buried in the back yard up to its lid. 

Once a week or so we had to order a load of water from a guy who would pull up in his truck with a metal tank on the back, run a hose to the cistern and fill us up.  The bummer would be when we would forget to order water or not realize we were low until it was too late.  Then we’d just be stuck with no water all.  No showers, no washing dishes, no flushing toilets.  Nothing. 

It’s all kind of weird when I think about it.  These days the water flows from the faucets in my house in what seems like an endless supply.  My daughters have no idea what it’s like to run out of water, but for me the memory still lingers, and I started thinking about those days last week when I read what God told His friend Jeremiah:

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” – Jeremiah 2:13

Of course God’s not talking about water here but about something even more precious, even more essential to life.  He’s talking about Himself.  Jesus told a woman at a well one day that if she drank the water He gave her, she would never thirst.  Ever. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve dug plenty of “leaky cisterns” in my life, things I thought would satisfy me but left me thirstier than before.  What I crave isn’t a stagnant cistern, but an endlessly flowing, life-giving spring.  A spring of living water. 

And there’s only one place I know to get it.  For me, I still have to make that choice daily.  Will I seek life in my stuff, my status and my security or will I go to the source of living water and drink from my friendship with God?

Unhandy Manny

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Last fall I tried to tile my bathroom, not exactly an easy job for an amateur.   To be honest, I’d be lucky to tile a Scrabble board.   The project ended in total disaster, so I had to call in Miles who work with tiles (no kidding) to come and save the day.   If the opposite of a handy man is an unhandy man, that would be me, Unhandy Manny.  All of my hard work had been totally pointless.  I was completely exhausted with nothing to show for my effort except a bill and a sore back.

I’ve come to expect this when it comes to home improvement, but it’s really frustrating when this happens in other areas of my life. 

Have you ever found yourself in a season where you’re exhausted, but you just can’t seem to get anything done?  It’s like no matter how much you work, you feel like you’re just treading water. If you’re like me, maybe it’s because you’re running ahead of God. 

Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builder labor in vain . . .
In vain you rise up early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat-
for He grants sleep
to those He loves.
 Psalm 127:1-2

Whether I’m working at my job, on my friendships or on my home life, there are times when I’m really taking time to let God lead me.  I’m carving out time to ask Him, “What next?” and to trust His timing.  I’m letting Him empower me to do life. 

Other times, not so much.  Other times, I’m just busy.  I hate busy.  Busy kills my soul, and ironically, I don’t get nearly as much done as when I slow down and invite God to lead my day.  I guess God is kind of like Miles who works with tiles, an expert craftsman who comes in and bails me out when I’ve reached the end of myself.