Wow, it has been a few years since my last post. During the pandemic, I was busy writing stories for a gift project from Ling and Erin, now that the Life Stories book is completed, I will pick up my writing on this blog.
Back in 2016, one little suggestion from me drove Hin sing to work so hard to build a beautiful deck in our backyard. We had a couple of steps down into our backyard from our living room, I "suggested" to Hin sing that if he could build a deck that extends directly from our living room without steps will be a much safer solution to our backyard. He said, "good idea" then began this hard work. This beautiful deck became a gathering place for many friends and family.
Two years ago. we began noticing that the surface began to get uneven, and corners show signs of stress. After much investigation, it was evident that the boards were too tight and no room to expand. Ummm. What should be the solution? Hin sing contemplated taking the whole deck apart and redoing it again. What? Are you kidding? This is just too beautiful to take it apart.
Recently, Hin sing decided to take action to redo the deck. Painfully he removed board by board, and the foundation frame was exposed. Oh, the pressure and stress of weather (heat and cold), caused the board to expand and push the foundation out of alignment which caused the damage.
He had to repair and realign the entire foundation before the boards can be put back together. This time he definitely leaves some gaps there for expansion. Can you believe that Hin sing tackled this project during the Seattle heat wave? After 5 days of hard work, a brand new deck re-appeared.
Oh, this project reminds me of our spiritual journey. Our lives may start out with a firm and good faith foundation, we looked good in our walk of life. With time, stress and anxieties strained our lives, and even our foundation began to shift, and succumb to social pressure, pandemic, and world events, without knowing, they rocked our foundation and our lives began to crack. Just like our original deck, so tightly put together, no room to grow, but eventually caused the damage. God pealed our lives bit by bit, layer by layer to expose what was wrong and needed attention, and repair before He can put us back together into a new and beautiful deck that serves many people in the days to come. This time, we for sure leave some room for growth, the realignment creates a new deck that shows forth His workmanship and purpose.
