When God Gives You A Hammer

Even if you didn't grow up in church, I'm sure you've read, or heard, the story of Noah.


Each time I've had this story taught to me, though in many different styles and by many different teachers, the focus has been fairly similar.
The ark, the flood, the animals, but most importantly-the rainbow.

Re-cap: Noah was a cool dude so God saved him and his family from destruction and showed them a pretty rainbow and we can all breathe a little easier now because God will never flood the Earth again. The end. 

Great!

Wrong. 

I don't think it's the rainbow that should always be the main focus, here. What about all the days, months, years before the rainbow?
What about all the sleepless nights before the flood ever came?
What about all of the hours in the hot sun, in the dirt, hammering away at an ark that nobody else thinks will do you any good?

Rarely ever mentioned, but so important.

Sometimes God  gives you a hammer. 
"What am I supposed to do with this, God?"

Response: "Work. Build. Hammer."

We hear God, but we look down at that hammer and question, "That's great God, but where's the pay off? Where's the harvest? Where's the flood you promised? Where's that rainbow?"
God's answer?

"Just keep hammering."

The least fun answer we can get.
No time frame of when our dreams will be fulfilled.
No clear plan of action.
Just build.

I might be going out on a limb here, but I can't believe that Noah never questioned what he was doing some days. Sure, Noah found "favor" in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8), but he was still human and he had a family to provide for. Can you imagine if God told you today to quite your day job and to start building an ark?

If you live in Seattle, maybe this wouldn't be so strange, but anywhere else, doesn't get that much rain. In fact, where Noah was, hardly EVER got rain. He was practically building an ark in an Arizona desert.
Day in and day out, Noah hammered. Noah built. Noah fumbled with nails and plywood.
I can see the looks from his neighbors now, the stares of his concerned children, the annoyed tapping of his wife's feet when Noah is more concerned with building an ark than he is helping with the dishes.

Yet, Noah built. 
Noah hammered. 
Noah waited. 
Noah got up each day, looked to the sky for rain clouds, saw an empty sky and yet continued to work and work hard. 

Sometimes God asks us to wait, to hammer, to work hard, when we would rather skip to the part about the dove and the rainbow.
Has God given you a dream?
A vision?
A glimpse into what He has for you?
I know He has me. I know He has my husband.

We look to the sky for rain clouds.
We wait. 

Waiting sucks. So does working towards something that seems useless. I'm positive there were days that Noah stood back, looked at the massive piece of scrap wood and thought, "What in the world am I doing? I work all day and all I have to show for it is an empty pocket book and a tired back. Am I going anywhere? Is the rain ever going to come?"

I have so many dreams. I have individual dreams and also dreams that my husband and I share. We question God when the rain will come. We beg Him to show us His timing! 

God, where's the flood?
Where's the rainbow we know You have for me, for us?

"Hammer. Build."

It can be a frustrating reply, but often times the answer is simply to keep working. We often have to work hard on seemingly endless, tiring, tasks before God brings us the promises He's made. 

If you sow, you will also reap.

Maybe you stand back from your eight to five job some days and wonder how in the world working there is going to get you to where you really want to be, wherever that may be, maybe the sands of another land, an orphanage, etc.

Maybe God is asking you to hammer away at a desk job, but you know that He has your heart elsewhere for a reason.

Take heart.
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood finally came.
Six. Hundred. Years. Old. 
He then had to wait another year on a smelly boat to finally reach his destination.

I think you can hammer just a little longer.
Wait for the rain a little longer.

God made His covenant with you, His promise with you; He will keep it.

Your job is to wipe the sweat from your brow, pick up that hammer, look to the sky and work hard.

Do the job you are in to the best of your ability.
Clean toilets better, fix wires better, make copies better, handle phone calls better.

Hammer.
Build.
Wait. 


Genesis 9:
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 

To Caler: On Your Thirteenth Birthday

Say it isn't so.
Tell me I've miscalculated the years.
How are you thirteen today? 

I suppose I knew it was coming sooner than later;  you've been reminding me and your dad that you simply cannot order off of the child's menu anymore, even if you do eat less than your younger brothers.

Thirteen year olds are basically grown-ups, right?

You want to grow up so quickly, so I want to write you to let you know that it's okay to linger in your childhood.
It's okay to take your time to grow old. 

With this letter we celebrate thirteen years of beautiful life, but with this letter I also want to remind you of so many of the things I wish I would have slowed down to hear before I grew up far too quickly.

1. Slow. Down. I know you're at the age where you want to be an adult, like yesterday. You want to drive. You want to be independent. You want to rush your childhood, racing passed it with no second thoughts. Caler,slow down. First, adulthood isn't even that fun. You want to sleep in, stay home and watch Spongebob, but you can't. You have to wear pants every single day and sticking out your tongue at jerks can get you fired. You're supposed to be "mature" and "responsible"-neither of these are fun words. Trust me, you want to listen to me on this: take your time and enjoy just being a kid. I rushed through growing up and I now long for the days of spraying canned cheese in my mouth and riding my bike until dusk.

2. Seek God above all other people. I know right now, girls are a thought, but they haven't yet taken president over video games or Saturday morning cartoons. Guess what? They will. One day, you will notice the way the sunlight makes music with a certain girl's hair instead of the score on your xbox game. It will smack you down like a ton of bricks, just like that. You will begin to spend more time ruffling gel into those curly locks of yours and try to shave hair not yet present on your upper lip. Girls are great, hey, I'm one; one day you will find a pretty amazing one (WHEN YOU'RE THIRTY). But, make sure they are not even near the top of your priority list until you find the one that God has for you (WHEN YOU'RE FORTY). God, family, yourself, your dreams, your school-these are the elements of life that should take residence in your heart until it is time to hand part of yourself over to your bride (WHEN YOU'RE FIFTY). Seek Christ above all others, all things, all dreams, all pursuits-this will lead to a joyful life, a fulfilled life, even when other partsdon't seem so great. I've made this mistake-it's not pretty. Seeking anyone but Jesus to fill you will leave you feeling so, so empty, sweet boy. 

3. Do stupid stuff. Okay, I'm not your mom or dad so I can tell you stuff like this. DO STUPID STUFF. Cocaine? bad. Toilet papering houses? good. (Don't tell dad I told you that though, okay?) Of all the things that I regret from my teenage years, doing stupid stuff (not cocaine) isn't one of them. I rolled houses. I put shaving cream on people's heads at church camp. I put flour into their blow dryers (you didn't hear that from me). I danced with my best friend in my childhood bedroom to crappy pop music until 4 am. I had a lot of fun, but stayed totally sober and never once broke curfew. It's okay to have fun. It's okay to act SILLY. Being serious all the time is lame. Laugh. Laugh a lot.

4. Never stop hanging out with your parents. I failed miserably at this one and I regret it now. I currently jump on any chance I get to lay on my parent's couch, eat their food and just talk to them. You spend so much of your teenage years wishing your parent would get off your back and then find yourself at age 25 wishing they would be around to hug your neck more often. Don't miss out on hanging out with your mom or your dad right now. Believe it or not, they're actually pretty smart, and funny, and cool people to talk to. Bonus: they both love you to pieces and want the absolute best for you, so they will be even better than talking to a best friend about your troubles, because they've been where you are. They have faced the battles you will face. You know what? I bet they have some pretty swell advice to offer.

5. Be your own person. I know the next few years are vital to your reputation (P.S-this word is dumb. Nobody really cares after graduation who you are or what you did). I know right now everything about life seems uncertain; it's constantly changing and you're growing slowly into the man you will one day be. But-be your own person. You have so much to offer the world, why would you want to imitate anyone else? Your heart, your talents, your values, your dreams-those are yours and yours alone. Develop your own thoughts, for nobody can take those from you. Vote how you want to vote, think how you want to think, feel how you want to feel. I want you to believe in something because you truly believe in it, not because you were told to believe it. I want you to be your own person and to find yourself along the way through your own life experiences. Your mom, your dad, me, we can all walk alongside you, but we can't walk for you. You have to earn your own legs and learn your own path. Know that I will be there to love you, no matter what that path may look like.

Happy Birthday, kiddo.

You are dearly, dearly loved by so many.

Now, blow out your candles and make a wish!

-B