Self-reliance

The natural tendency of the human heart is to do things on our own, according to our own understanding of the world in which we live.  But Proverbs 3:5 tells us to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Today, I learned a powerful lesson about this biblical principle.  In our continuing efforts to fit our new home to the needs of our family, we decided that it would be great if we had a sidewalk from the back of the house where the ground level entrance to my parents quarters is to the front of the house so that people wanting to visit them did not have to come through the upstairs.  We also felt that it would be beneficial to have access to their living area that did not involve stairs. 
As I have told you, I am not tremendously well-versed in the building trades, but having been in the ministry for over 30 years, I have been involved in the laying of a few sidewalks, so I thought this was a job that I was more than capable of pulling off. So, with the help of Steve "Nine Fingers" Boone and Clint Kidd, I set out to lay the forms for about 65 feet of sidewalk and a short extension of the driveway.  What I found was that only about two and a half feet of that area was located on level ground, which created a rather interesting challenge when we began to estimate the amount of concrete or fill that would be necessary.  Steve, Clint and I worked from about 2PM to after 8PM yesterday setting forms and shoveling rocks in an attempt to be prepared for the delivery of the concrete at 2PM today.  I can't say enough to express my gratitude for the blood, sweat, and tears that Steve and Clint poured into this project.
When I woke up this morning, I was confident that Steve and I could  do whatever was necessary to get this sidewalk in before dark this evening.  Unbeknownst to me, my mother had prayed this morning that everything would go smoothly and that there would be no glitches today.  In answer to her prayers, about 10 AM, my friend, Joe Nowlin, gave me a call.  He said, "Hey, I heard you were pouring a sidewalk today, is there anything I can do to help?"  I said, "I don't think so, Joe, I think Steve and I have it under control."  To which He replied, "Well, then can I take you to lunch since the concrete doesn't get there until 2?"  To which I said, "Sure come on by."  When Joe showed up, with his experience in the construction industry, he immediately recognized that I had no idea what I was talking about and that I was in over my head.  (By the way, I still had not recognized that fact as yet.)  We talked about the fact that we weren't going to be able to get the concrete truck near enough to the project to make a straight pour from the truck.  My plan was for Steve and I to haul the concrete in my wheelbarrow around the house until we got close enough to the truck for the chute to reach it.  Joe listened to my plan with a straight face (not easy I am sure) and immediately got on the phone.  Before I knew it, Joe had four of his Applied Products workers, three more wheelbarrows, David Hale of David Hale Construction and Jeremiah, one of his concrete guys at my house waiting for the concrete truck to arrive.  Joe's only advice to me was, "When the concrete guy gets here, stay out of his way."  The end result was that by 5 PM, they had laid six and a half yards of concrete along a winding downhill path and had put all of the finishing touches on it.  They were amazing!  Steve and I agreed that we would have still been out there running that wheelbarrow up and down the hill. 
The lesson in all this for me was pretty clear.  I have a habit of looking at a situation and thinking that I know exactly what to do.  "I've got this one under control, God.  I'll call you if I need you."  Fortunately, God sees the situation and knows exactly what is needed and that I can't handle it on my own.  He intervenes and saves me from my own foolishness by sending the right people and the right resources into my life at the right time.  Today, it was David, Alfonso, Jorge, Pedro, Jeremiah, and David.  The end result was better than I could ever have accomplished on my own, and in truth, better than I imagined.
James 1:5 is one of my all-time favorite verses.  It says, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."  God gives what we need and He doesn't scold us for asking.  I really appreciate the fact that when Joe showed up this morning, he didn't say, "Marty, you idiot, there is no way you can get this job done. (Even though he would probably have been right)  He just jumped in with both feet and helped out.  His outpouring of generosity and kindness was a reflection of God's desire to bless His children, even when we get in over our heads. Oh, and by the way, a mother's prayers never hurt either.