My shoes still have glue on the bottom of them, and I hope it never goes away! A couple of weeks ago, I went up to our new building to walk around and pray for a while. I was trying to stay out of the way of the workers and not mess up any of the work they had already done. I walked into the Sanctuary and went up on stage. I wanted to avoid walking on the carpet, so I walked on the wood. I got about halfway across the stage and got stuck - literally! My shoes stuck to the glue on the floor and my feet almost came out of them (I didn't know this would happen, so please don't tell Pastor Bonnie that it did happen).
I did manage to escape from the clutches of the evil glue and managed to not mess up anything. But I do know this - I hope the glue never goes away. I want it to always be there to remind me of where God brought us from and how we longed for the big move to happen. I want it to also remind me of God's promises and how to be patient while you wait for them to come to pass. I want it to make me look forward to whatever else He has in store for us.
Nehemiah probably had days where he longed for the completion of a building project, too. He had been burdened about rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, so he prayed about what to do. Then he gathered people around him to help him complete the work. And finally, he celebrated with them when it was done. About midway through the book named after him, we read this summary of what that looked like:
"So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." (Nehemiah 6:15-16)
I think these two verses provide us with the sticking point that we need to pay attention to: when we do things with the help of our God, walls are completed and enemies lose their self-confidence. And when all of this happens, we who relied on God can celebrate the great things He has done!
All of this has me thinking about what will happen next at HighPoint Church. Someday (soon, hopefully), we are moving. The walls will be built and carpets will be laid and electricity will work. Wifi will be connected and doors will be delivered (I'm claiming this, in Jesus' Name). The parking lot will be paved and furniture will be installed. Someday, the building project will be completed and we will be praising God. And someday, we will look back on this time in the history of our church and want to be reminded of all it. We will want this to stick - in our minds, our hearts, and maybe even our shoes. Until all of this comes to pass, keep praying!