In June of 2017, a pipe under the front of our house broke creating a problem with water under our entry way. The issue wasn't obvious at first. Initially from outward appearances there was no problem. But we began to notice subtle things that tipped us off to a hidden danger. We had to have the plumbers come and evaluate. Indeed what appeared as a minor issue was really a much bigger problem underneath. The solution would require fixing the broken pipe. However, this was much easier said than done. As is so often the case with deep seated issues, it required a lot of work just to reveal the part that needed fixing.
Plumbers would have to tear up the floor and dig deep into the ground just to fix the pipe. The broken pipe was under a layer of carpet that rested on concrete and could not be seen from the outside. The breach in the pipe allowed water to create a pocket under the foundation that would inevitably grow larger and eventually create a large enough weakness that the floor would collapse. It was easy to miss the issue from living inside the house; however, if it was left alone and ignored it would result in a catastrophe that could not be ignored.
I find a similarity in my life and my tendency to ignore issues that are not easily visible until they are so much of a problem that destruction results. We push issues deep below the surface and hope they just go away. We often allow erosion to occur in our hearts that will ultimately result in collapse if not dealt with. It is so easy to just fake it and hope things will get better.
So when it came to the pipe issue, we made the decision to fix the issue sooner than later. This is where we often miss the chance in our lives. We would rather keep it hidden and hope it goes away than to go through the work of fixing it. Because often fixing it is WORK and may be uncomfortable. We ignore the opportunity to avoid catastrophe.
The essence of our home problem was a crack in a pipe. All it took to fix it was removing a section of pipe and fitting in a new section. Once the pipe was exposed it took about 20 minutes to repair. But the real work was exposing the pipe. The pipe lay buried under a layer of concrete and then buried 2 feet under ground. And sitting on top of the concrete was carpet and furniture and essences of life. All of this had to be dealt with simply to get to the real problem.
We have so many layers and "things" in our lives that disguise problems at the heart level. So it can be easy to ignore the true issues. And we must work through all these layers or OBSTACLES to get to the real problem that of itself may be easy to fix.
The plumbers came in and created a huge mess! The furniture was moved including a large grand piano. The carpet on the floor had to be removed then the concrete was jack hammered to pieces and removed. The result was a massive hole that was dug out to visualize the real problem. My beautiful formal living room was suddenly a massive hole deep in the ground.
Every morning I came downstairs to see a giant hole gaping in the ground. My house was broken! Broken every morning when I awoke to a new day! As I stated, each day I could see little progress. The project seemed so overwhelming to me that I could see no end. At times I wondered why didn't we just leave it alone? I knew there was a problem but the consequences of the problem seemed trivial on outward appearances. Maybe if left alone it would not affect us that much. But I knew in my heart that line of reasoning was flawed. But still, why did I allow a small scale replica of the grand canyon to be dug in my living room. Is this really necessary Mr. Plumber man?
I watched every day as demolition occurred and then repairs were made. And finally the new and improved version was complete. The concrete had been repaired and new carpet laid. The furniture was returned and our living room was back to normal and the problem was gone. Once the plumbers had finished, I expected this repair to last for a long time. I consider it fixed! No need to continue fixing it. No more "broken every morning!"
Our spiritual lives, on the other hand, are a different matter all together. We wake up EVERY morning in need of repair, or at least, renewing! In truth, we wake up broken every morning! At least I do for sure! Romans 12:2 calls us to be transformed by renewing our minds. Renewing our minds requires a DAILY process of renewing because the world keeps throwing in negative influences every minute of every day.
The problem is, it is easy to hide the brokenness behind a false façade and act like everything is fine. It's easy to just be "too busy" to work at repairing the brokenness. We love to fool ourselves and fool others who don't see our brokenness. We are masters at ignoring the real issue that lies beneath.
So we wake up broken EVERY DAY!! We must decide if we are going to go about fixing our mind each day. We must make a decision to draw closer to God each day and allow him to transform our minds. Or we are just going to tell ourselves we are fine and in no need of renewing. Which of course is lying to ourselves. But this definitely requires a decision. We must ACT!! It may be painful and time consuming but we must ACT!!
In the "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis, the young boy Eustace has become a dragon by laying on a dragon's pile of gold. Eustace desires to be a boy again but is told by Aslan the Lion that in order to be a boy again he must remove the dragon scales. This removal of scales can only be done by Aslan. No matter how hard Eustace tries, he is still a dragon. He is still "broken". But when he relents and lets Aslan transform him it is not easy. Eustace says, "The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. When the scales were removed, Aslan dropped him in a pool of water and Eustace states, "After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again.”
Eustace had become "broken". He became a dragon because he thought dragon thoughts. When we think of things of the world, we become like the world...BROKEN! We must realize this and take the opportunity to think on things above. We can't just let laziness keep us from acting!! We must MOEO!!
So I wake up every morning knowing I am broken every day! And I grasp the OPPORTUNITY to transform everyday! And I ACT! I make it a priority everyday to "transform" my mind by spending time with my creator. It is through our brokenness that we grow!!
The more you are broken at the core. The more you mutate into a better version of yourself. - The Selection
God's primary concern is who we are BECOMING!
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