Craftsmanship

One of the spiritual gifts listed in the Bible is the gift of craftsmanship. Every time I've taken one of the spiritual gifts test to help you discover your spiritual gifts, I have wound up with craftsmanship. Now granted I am the daughter of Bobby Taylor and thus I am a pretty crafty lady, however I never would have seen this as a "spiritual gift."

There have been many occasion where I have used my craftiness and handiness for the ministry. But again it has yet to surface to me as a "spiritual gift." And then this past Friday happened.

In the courtyard behind the Chi Alpha house we have a ton of banana trees surrounding the courtyard. There is one area of trees though that we have recently decided to get rid of and extend our deck in to that corner. The idea was that if we got rid of those trees and extended the deck to the corner, we could move the bike rack there.

So Friday myself and three other staff members set out to uproot these trees. If you have ever tried to up root banana trees or dealt with them in general, then you know they are vicious suckers. After a good three hours, the four of us looked like we had rolled in the mud but we finally had victory over about then banana trees. After we finished digging, my co-workers moved on to their next projects and I sat down to figure out how to finish the deck.

Of course my first move was to call dad. After a few minutes on the phone I had somewhat of a grasp of what to do. I then sat starring at this hole thinking I was in over my head. And then all of a sudden it's like something clicked and I began to sketch out my plan. I then proceeded to Home Depot to buy 130 feet of wood and a dozen cinder blocks and screws. I placed all the supplies in my little Toyota Corolla (I got a good laugh out of that) and headed home to build.

On my way to Home Depot I prayed that God would stop the rain because I couldn't use power tools in the rain and I also asked for the wisdom to complete the deck. By the time I returned home the rain had stopped and I somehow knew how to level dirt and build a deck. I fully believe that God stopped the rain and imparted wisdom to me of how to build.

At one point in my building venture I sat and had no idea how to figure out the correct angle to cut wood to fit the existing deck. And again all of a sudden I figured it out and everything fit. It was one of the easiest projects I've ever done. It may have been easier than my project last week to extend my two laundry room shelves. I had no problems, no hiccups, and everything was perfect. In a matter of four hours I had designed, shopped, and finished my deck. In those four hours I began to understand the spiritual gift of craftsmanship. In all honesty I believe that God gave me the wisdom, ability, and strength to finish off the deck on Friday. He provided everything I needed including daylight and no rain and the knowledge of how to do it. I gave Him my hands and talents and He provided me with the rest. It is a spiritual gift indeed!

I wish I had a before picture of the corner of the courtyard, but alas I don't. Here is the finished product though:


(the new looking wood is what I did on Friday along with installing the "rest of the fence" aka an old table that I screwed to the house)

It's amazing the gifts and talents that God gives us and the way that He will use them if we allow. So amazing!! I love getting to work with God! One of my co-workers on Friday told me that I wouldn't be able to finish the deck in the same day. When I sent him a picture of the finished product that night I told him to never underestimate a woman and Jesus!

Until then......