Caution: Construction Zone

It's been a long time coming, but I’m sure you have noticed that they have finally begun work on adding a few lanes on I-65 from Alabaster to Calera. It's just a drop in the bucket for what is needed to widen the interstate all the way to the coast, but at least it's progress. Of course, it's going to take some time before we see that progress, and by the time they're done we may need even more lanes. For now, we can actually hear in our services those driving on the "rumble strips" on the sides of the now-adjusted lanes, just across the fence from our church campus. 

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going to get worse before it gets better. The snow birds will soon be descending from up north, making their way to the beach for the summer, creating traffic logjams that will back up I-65 and Hwy. 31 north and south for several weekends straight. The traffic seems to be getting worse year round, but with the construction detours and the beach traffic, it's likely going to be worse than ever this summer.

I guess you can't have progress without construction, though the detours and delays do bring their share of frustration. Within a few years, they will finish this project and we'll have more lanes to work with, which should actually decrease our traffic problems and lower our stress levels each day. But in the mean time, you can count on our roads being a mess.

Which can be a pretty good picture of our lives walking with the Lord. You can't have progress without construction, but often that is messy. And really, on this side of heaven, we will always be a work in progress. At least I hope we will.

When Ruth Graham, the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died in 2007, she chose to have engraved on her gravestone words that had nothing to do with the remarkable achievements of her life. The short, quaint epitaph was a brief message she wanted to share with those who knew her and all who would see her grave.

The idea came to her when she was driving one day along a highway through a construction site, not unlike those near us, where there were miles of detours and caution signs and machinery and equipment. She finally came to the final sign, which read: "End of construction. Thank you for your patience."

And that is what is written over Ruth Graham's grave: "End of construction. Thank you for your patience."

Here's hoping the signs of your life reveal that God is still at work in you, making you more like Christ every day, no matter how long you have walked with Him. None of us have arrived, and by His grace, we are all still "under construction."

I'm grateful to be on this busy, crazy, messy road with all of you. I'm praying for you, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. 

--Pastor Ken