For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.—Hebrews 3:4 (NKJV)

One day the building was there. The next it wasn’t. My favorite community restaurant had closed months earlier, and the building had been up for sale ever since. To my surprise, one afternoon when I drove by, I noticed the building in rubbles. Construction fences and equipment blocked most of my view and cautioned pedestrians to stay clear while work was in progress. I watched over the next few months what seemed to be a painstakingly slow and tedious process of rebuilding the area. 

At times, I’ve felt my life was a mess—surrounded by dusty rubble and fallen debris—and knew that only God could reconstruct it. My prayers for God to change my life have led to frustration when the results don’t happen as quickly as I’d like. Doesn’t God want me to be more patient? Shouldn’t it be easier to mend strained relationships? God, what’s taking so long? 

Like an architect who holds the blueprints for buildings, God holds the blueprints of our lives. So I remind myself that while things may seem to be in shambles from the outside, God is carefully creating a new and improved version of me. I’ve gained patience, smoothed out the rough edges that were once in the relationship with my father, and learned to trust God’s process. I’m still a work in progress and hope that I always will be.