Over the last year, a friend of mine has been having a new house built in the garden of his existing home. His wife died two years ago and he felt that the existing one was then too big for his needs. His intention was to build a small bungalow and rent out the original property. In due course, plans were approved by the local authority and work began. There were the inevitable hold-ups when the builders sat drinking tea because the suppliers were late with deliveries of bricks, cement, timber, etc. Then the building inspector decided that things were not quite right and so alterations had to be made.
My friend decided, half-way through, that he would, after all, like to have two upstairs bedrooms and so fresh plans had to be submitted and approved before building could continue. He has a large pond in the garden and the new house has decking at the front, overlooking the pond. A balustrade was erected on the decking, only to be condemned by the inspector as being of insufficient height to comply with Health and Safety requirements. A heated discussion comparing its height with that of the wall on the footpath of the Orwell Bridge seemed to avoid any need for alteration!
As the building neared completion, he looked at the size of the new rooms and the size of existing furniture and decided a lot of it would have to be replaced. He did however want to retain one of his existing wardrobes but the new staircase was too narrow so he had to dismantle it, take it up the stairs bit by bit and reassemble it. Yesterday, at last, he moved in to his new eco-friendly, smaller but more economic home. He richly deserves many years of happiness in it.
Things hadn't gone as smoothly as he might have wished. There were difficulties and disappointments to cope with. There was, at times, frustration and aggravation but, at last, there is great joy and satifaction in starting a new life in a new situation.
Jesus also encountered and overcame difficulties, disappointmemts, frustration and aggravation during His time on earth and isn't it the challenge that He gave to us - to overcome the difficulties of following in His footsteps and enjoying a new life in Him?
Steve Campbell
Interim Moderator
Tel: 01284 787664
November 2009