Thursday, May 19, 2011

X is for Xtreme Makeover - The Home Edition

My Dad built Space Mountain. 
By himself. 
While on crutches. 
Okay, well, maybe that's not entirely true. But, in the 1970's when my Dad was part of the construction crew that was working on the new Tomorrowland ride--that is how proud I was. I pictured my Dad working on that ride and I saw him as one of the tallest men in the world. As a kid, I don't think that I could have been more proud of my Dad, because I knew he was helping to build a ride at Disneyland. 

I wasn't surprised that they would want him, because I already knew that he could build anything. One of my earliest memories is a time that my parents were working on our home, and that makes perfect sense, because they were always working on our home. Growing up, I learned that sleeping in on Saturdays was a reality only in the homes of my friends. In our home, the sound of hammering and saws accented most weekends. This was what I was taught to value, this caring of the home. This constant upgrading and improving. And, those things are important. It is a good thing to care for that which the Lord has provided. 

But, it wasn't until I was in my twenties that my parents began the most critical Home Makeover imaginable. For as their children were leaving their finely tuned nest, my parents humbly began to make Jesus their Lord. A series of trials in their lives brought them to the place that they began to seek out answers, and they landed in a healthy, growing church. 

The day my Father was baptized he grew several feet taller. Once he seemed big to small child; now, he was a giant to a young woman. The things that he built, while I grew up in his home, do not compare to the home that he built when he brought Christ into his life. Today, as an adult, I look at my parents and how they serve God so faithfully, so consistently, and I don't think that I could be more proud of my Dad, because I have seen how he has built a home to honor the Son of God. 

He is the one who will build a house for my Name. 
He will be my son, and I will be his father. 
And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.
I Chronicles 22:10