Diary of an Urban House

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
Vince Lombardi

I wholeheartedly agree.  I have felt this way, occasionally, while still in full time ministry.  But the sweetness of the “finest hour” comes partly from the clarity of the victory: that’s one clear way that sports is better than regular life.  There is a simplicity and focus and clarity in sports that is easy to lose in other arenas of life… like homebuilding for instance.  It looks like we will soon –at last– finish this house that we’ve been working towards for almost eight years now. It has certainly been a battle, we have worked our hearts out indeed, and we will “lay exhausted in the field” when it’s done.

But it feels like a pyrrhic victory.

This is not the house we had imagined in the beginning: it is grander, embarrassing in its commanding presence.

It has come at a higher cost than we could have guessed, emotionally, familially and careerwise as well as financially.

And as we try to imagine housewarming parties, I can’t help thinking of the little red hen when her bread is finally done.  Besides a handful of people at our church & World Impact, our family, and a handful of the contractors who poured themselves into this, who really has helped us toward this goal?  It hurts to realize our lack of small-group community, partly because of the demands of this project, means that the culmination of the project is a lonelier and emptier triumph than it deserves to be.

Or maybe I’m just feeling down today.

Once this house is finished, it will be a beachhead in this neighborhood, and the more significant battles can begin in earnest.

And besides, the house isn’t finished yet.

So to quote another famous motivator of men,

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”