i. am. tim taylor.
this past weekend i went over to the other side of town to help with a bit of a home makeover, a la tlc's while you were out. the campus ministry had basically volunteered to take a poorer family's home and revitalize it from the ground up. we had new carpet and tile for them, new furniture, new everything, and that's not all. we weren't just giving them stuff, but we were going to fix a lot of things and help them get rid of a lot of older, useless stuff that had no real utility or purpose. anyway, that was the plan.
what actually happened:
we didn't count on this poor family being collectors. yes, like something off of oprah, this family was so poor that they actually had strong issues parting with their own trash. it was pretty sad. we were also told not to replace their rundown furniture or their floors. it was rough, but we all decided to do our best and make due with what was left.
the project was divided into 3 days, with the first 2 days being spent hauling out and sorting trash that could be thrown away from the collectibles and trash that couldn't be thrown away. i came to help out on the last day, which was pretty much the overhaul and building day. i had the time of my life that day and, honestly, i think that something weird came over me during the project.
back story:
my family is made up of builders. tradesmen, carpenters, construction workers, paper mill workers, truckers, etc. you name it, my family builds it. well, contrary to my humble origins i was a pretty snotty little brat growing up. i seriously had issues looking down on people who were involved in work that didn't require a "formal education." just thinking back to my childhood, there were so many different ways i would try to separate myself from my family. i would do all of the nerdy things and aim for the highest grades and honors, anything that would point to my fame and my genius. what a crock! it has only been in the last couple of years, with some help from jen, that i've even come to look more favorably on people of different background and "education levels." so, basically, i'm saying that because the family i hated was involved in trades and manual labor, i avoided that and took the route of the nerd. that has changed a little. back to the main line.
i became a construction freak. i was lord of the power drill. all day long i worked replacing blinds and curtains, putting things together and replacing older stuff. that house was tight by the time we got through with it. i could hear people behind me throughout the day saying things like,
"hey, do you know how to put this up?"
"no, but david does. let him do it. he really knows how to use all of the tools."
i was loving every minute of it. why the crap did i ever let my pride get in the way of doing things that were so helpful to others, and also so personally satisfying? it was so crazy when i realized that me hammering and screwing in curtain rods on a poor woman's wall could really, truly be a spiritual act of worship. so that's that, and here's some other thoughts i've had since then.
it hit me a couple of days later that the things i had done, and done well, were also things i'd never done before. i have never screwed blinds to a wall, and my experience with tools, let alone power tools, is extremely limited. yet i was going to town on those things, and not once did i not know what i was doing. it felt completely, 100% natural. i've also learned from a lot of my psych. classes that talent at jobs like these is often natural for some people because of heredity. it just set me wondering: was i made in some way to do these things? the things i've avoided my entire life, that help other people and serve God, i am actually made to do those very things? have i rejected God in some way by not using and exploring the gifts he may have lent me? it's just some stuff to think about. good pondering.
what types of ventures do we all avoid trying that may be things we do quite naturally? could there ever be divine purposes behind these things we flee without thinking?
stick that in your back pocket.
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