This week my respect for professionals who install trim has increased yet again. I’ve done my fair share of construction over the years. Before I got sissy hands in ministry (I miss my calluses…they made me feel more manly), I was a roofer for four years. Then I spent time framing homes, siding and welding. I even learned how to make sails for sail boats! But one thing I never quit got was trim. It’s too tedious. Too delicate. My motto has become “Caulking covers a multitude of mistakes”.
Trimming out my current house has proven that my walls are, well, crooked. Nothing reveals flaws in the walls quit like trim work. Your miter saw can cut 45degree angles with laser precision, but if the wall is out of alignment, your trim won’t match up and there will be cracks and spaces. Ugh! Oh well. I can’t fix the walls. Nail it up. “Caulking covers a multitude of mistakes”.
Same for us. I can’t fix my crooked walls. The world can’t fix my walls. But we still try to trim out our lives with all the usual trappings. Relationships, careers, degrees, stuff. But when those things are laid against our true selves, cracks are revealed. Gaps. Spaces. I know, I can just cover it with caulk. Fill in the gaps with my own effort. My own religious duty or hard work or people pleasing. But the problem is that the walls remain crooked. The trim is still imperfect.
What we need is a master carpenter. One who can come in and straighten our walls. Perfect plum lines. Everything in square. True, some things might have to be moved. It might be painful. We might get dirty. But in the end, what a beautiful house we will be.
