Which House?
“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
Haggai 1:9
Haggai isn’t a book I read often! It happened to come up in my daily reading schedule today, and I was deeply challenged by these words.
Some of you know Alex and I just bought our very first home together. While my husband has a house in London, this is the first house I’ve ever purchased–and it was love at first viewing! It has a beautiful deck that looks out onto trees and a small stream that runs right below.
For what we were unprepared, though, were the results of the house inspection. At first glance, everything looked great–no cracks in the walls, floors that felt even, a solid looking façade.
The inspection, however, revealed the 30-foot retaining wall was significantly compromised, and most of the backfill in the slop that dropped down to the wall was washed away, leaving our foundations exposed and vulnerable to damage. We were fortunate that our seller agreed to cover a good proportion of the repair costs, which run to tens of thousands of dollars. And since moving in, our home has been a worksite while we pour time and money into making our joyful family home stable again.
As we prepare to enter the season of stewardship at St. Martin’s, these verses are a challenge to me. Even as a priest, it can be hard to reconcile St. Martin's annual budget with the comparatively small amount we are in a position to give to the wonderful work here. We’ve had thoughts, often, that the little we give would barely be noticed if it disappeared, but as my husband and I have reflected, we know that to not really be true.
A mere 10 people giving $83 a month is $10,000 a year, and 500 people giving $15 is $90,000. People working together giving what they can afford is transformational both to the church and the community it serves.
We have been so focused on building our home that we’ve forgotten how important it is to be building the temple–the foretaste of our true, heavenly home, the place of healing and reconciliation, of trust and faith, worship and repentance.
Wherever else we spend money eventually disappoints; in 30 years, we’ll be replacing that retainage wall all over again. Yet, the work done here–and the work done in me as I learn to be a joyful giver–lasts for eternity.
