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Rot--or Not  

The glory of springtime in bloom withered with a rude awakening this week. 

All I wanted to do was "simply" remove the worn wood siding on our storage barn and replace it with new. As it has been 35 years since we built the thing, it was overdue for an overhaul.

After emptying the ten-by-ten structure (a process which somehow filled our entire garage), I noticed the problem. One corner of the plywood floor had succumbed to rot.

As my fingers pressed deep into the spongy pulp, I knew this would be no small project.  Time for a trip to the lumber yard!

The new floor looks great. But after installing it, we endured a mini-monsoon.  Enough rain to prove that new plywood is not enough.  My little barn has sunk over time, and the only way to avoid the return of rot is to jack the whole thing up on cinder blocks—pray for me!

The thing is, I probably could have avoided the disaster of the rotten floor! If only I hadn't been inattentive, or let so much time go by before taking action. And if we could (somehow) live in a world without destructive elements.

Sadly, that barn is a metaphor for the way we maintain—or don't maintain—our spiritual lives.  A lack of attention over prolonged time combined with the destructive elements of our fallen world always leads to soul rot.

Yet we somehow persist in the foolish belief that maintenance is optional or can be delayed again and again.  Worse, we sometimes live as if we disbelieve in the reality of spiritual destruction all around us.

In the parable of Jesus, the wise man built his barn (okay, house) upon the rock.  He was attentive and took action—designing in a way that showed his awareness and alertness to destructive elements. 

Rot—or not.  The choice is ours. 

 

 

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Jon GaugerJon Gauger

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