Counterbalance

Today we met our quota again and are finished making trusses. Things went well for our team, as we were firing on all cylinders. Six trusses complete and even got them up on the wall (upside down however) loose to be stood up tomorrow and leveled off. We even finished a bit early today which means we had time for a swim in the sun before supper (it was hot today, 35). Dan and Byron come in tomorrow afternoon and we hope to be done the majority of the skeleton by the time they get here. At this point I’m fairly optimistic on our progress, that’s usually when the bottom falls out from under you. Speaking of which, maybe what could prevent a failure would be some counterbalance. I’m drawing a comparison from my Haitian friends here; For some strange reason they decided today that they needed to trim the tree that sits beside the building. This tree has been great for shade in the afternoon but probably will be in the way when the final touches of the roof are going up. So this morning they brought up a machete and made plans to get up to the top of the wall to trim the branches. We tried to convince them to wait till the roof structure was up but they continued on as planned. 

Counterbalance is the key to their plan here. At one point he was right up near the top of the ladder. After they cut one branch down we shut down their program because we were loosing our afternoon shade, but not before we all snapped a few pictures. Counterbalance could help make sure we complete our project here, Byron and Dan will hopefully bring some of that to our team, but they can’t be the ultimate anchor that we are in need of. 

I may be grasping at straws, but maybe there is a life lesson out of this example too. Many of us have stresses and pressures that push us right to the top of our ladders. So what then is your counterbalance?  Your family?  Your friends? Your money? Three times in the gospel Jesus said “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”. Jesus was referred to as the Word. He was the full extent of God’s presence here on earth and remains just as much of that presence today. We can live with assurance that we are safe, no matter what our circumstances are, knowing that Jesus Christ is the rock of my salvation, my counterbalance.  That Word, is true, is right and is living. Grow in the knowledge and truth of Jesus today, put down this device and pick up your Bible. Know Him, grow in relationship with Him and trust that He will never let you fall. As for our Haitian friends and their actual ladder climbing, hopefully our safety team will make sure no one falls tomorrow as we’re standing trusses.