Blueprint for Life

Sitting in the cab of a dump truck can give one a lot of time for reflection.  Something that crossed my feeble mind this morning is how like driving a dump truck can be like my life.

We are moving dirt (today) from what will become a settling pond to what is now a low spot that has to be raised.  We dump the dirt, just plain brown subsoil with rocks ranging up to about 1.5 feet in diameter, and then drive over it.  Occasionally, a big dozer then runs over it, evens it out a bit, then a compactor goes over it.  But most of the time it is a VERY bumpy ride, and you have to go very slowly and hang onto the steering wheel.

The thing is, I don't know the exact extent of the area that needs to be raised, nor how high.  I just dump the dirt where they tell me.  I could go look at the blueprints.  I grew up around construction, and I know just enough to be dangerous, so I might be able to figure the prints out.  Then again, I might read them wrong.  So, I keep my eyes on the foreman when I'm bringing a load in.  If he doesn't direct me, I use my best judgment and place the load where I think it goes.  If he directs me, I place the load where he wants it.

The point?  The Bible is our blueprint, and God is the foreman.  God appoints others to act in His place to give us direction (a couple of times I have relayed messages from the foreman to the other volunteer drivers) or He may give us explicit directions, or He may expect us to use our best judgment based on our understanding of the plans.  But we do need to look at the plans, and we do need to keep our eyes on the Foreman so that He can direct us.  And we seldom have a view of the overall plan.  I keep wishing that the dozer operator would come over and smooth us out a road, but that is not in the plans, and the dozer has other things to do that are in the plans.

I have to accept that the foreman knows what he is doing.  I have to accept that God knows what He is doing.  I have to understand that I do not have the full set of blueprints, just the part of them that is important for me to know.  And I need to work at understanding the ones I have, and rely on God to direct me in the parts where I don't have or understand the plan.  And sometimes that means I will be driving over a VERY bumpy road, and the steering wheel might kick back sometimes, and my head might bounce off the ceiling and my butt off the floor.

But God has the plans.  THAT is the important part.

Update, a few days later:

I did go read the plans, and actually spent some time with the excavator operator measuring and marking.  I learned that after the foot or so that we had already raised we still needed another 1-1/2 feet of fill.  And that's exactly what we need to do, spend some time with someone who is willing to teach us, and be teachable, and learn what the Bible means.  And then go follow the directions!!!