Assembly Instructions

I recently got a new bedroom set. I went out shopping for a dresser and an armoire and picked out a matching set that I thought would look perfect in my room. Being a first time furniture buyer, I expected the sales associates to page the warehouse workers to come load up the pre-assembled set right in front of me. But to my surprise, they brought out two very heavy boxes. I stared at the boxes appalled by the fact that I had to set them up myself. The man who loaded the boxes in my car reassured me that this furniture would be easy to assemble. I would have taken the display set in a heartbeat if they would've let me, but I decided this actually might be kinda fun. I liked the idea of building my own furniture!

It took me a few days to work up the motivation to tackle the project but I finally started one day, excited that I would have a fully assembled bedroom set by that evening. The good feeling immediately left as soon as I saw the assembly instructions and the bag of a million tiny screws, nails and thingamabobbers. I was quickly feeling overwhelmed as the contents of the box were spread out over the majority of my living room.

  

I carefully followed the assembly instructions step by step and even though the progress was slow, I began to see the pile of board and screws turn into an armoire. I had a few glitches and hang-ups along the way and had to take some pieces apart and start over but I was seeing a lot of progress. It took me a few days longer than I had anticipated, but I felt so accomplished to see the set in my room completed.

Life sometimes feels a lot like assembling furniture. Growing up and looking forward to adulthood seems a lot like going shopping for furniture. It is fun and exciting to see all the things that you may be able to have in your life. It is pretty and put together. Little do you know that you have to do a lot of building and work to have those things. Thankfully, we have the instruction manual to life; the Bible. When I was building the armoire I would have the irrational thought that I could skip a couple steps or improvise rather than following the manual exactly. But lets be honest here, I don't have any carpentering skills in the slightest so before I knew it, I had pieces turned upside-down, inside-out and in a heap of dysfunction. I would then have to back track and fix all my mistakes. If I wanted an actual armoire, I had to build it according to the directions. I've done this with life too. At some point I thought I knew more and didn't have to follow the Bible or do what it said. I would then have to go back, take apart pieces, and start over. It is not a fun process.

Sometimes I feel frustrated when I find myself in a taking apart season. Areas of my focus, dedication and passion take unexpected turns and I realize that I haven't been building correctly.  God knows the finished product of what He is building even when I don't understand. I know that he sees the entire span of my life and whenever I stray from that there has to be some rebuilding and restructuring. He is so gracious and merciful to help us change and get back on track. I would really be lost without the Word of God helping me fit all of the pieces together in the right place. I want to be a builder that builds according to the plan. I am dedicated to building my life on His plan rather than my own.