As the days go by, our new deck grows. Most homes in the neighborhood already own good-looking decks, but this is our first ever, so watching it take shape has been satisfying. In a couple of weeks we’ll be enjoying it much like kids enjoy a tree house.

Our plan is to build a low-ceilinged room beneath the largest part of the deck, fully protected from the weather. Since we have no garage, this under-room will serve as a garage-sized shed while giving double-duty to the yard space already taken by the deck. Last week workmen poured concrete for the floor of this room, partnering it with 50 year old concrete that was already there and still in good shape. Watching the process was fascinating.

When the cement truck arrived, it was too big to make the turn into our drive, so the men had to ferry the wet concrete from the street to the back of the house, one wheelbarrow at a time. Thankfully the “pour” wasn’t too big, and they finished quickly.

As they dumped their loads into the rectangular space, I was surprised at how full-of-chunks the cement was. Would our floor be made of sharp rocks? From my perch in the house above them, I watched carefully and finally went out to ask.

“It’s gonna be so bumpy,” I said, bemoaning the stony texture.

“Just watch,” one guy said. “I’m gonna bring all the cream to the top. It’ll be so smooth it’ll be slippery.” That was hard to believe.

But sure enough, as he manipulated the wet cement with his tools, little by little the sharp rocks disappeared and glassy-smooth began to appear. A final step to put broom-texture on the surface changed slippery to safe.

Watching this transformation reminded me of how God works on us over time to smooth away our rough edges. Scripture calls it “purifying” or “refining” or “perfecting”.  The Lord starts with our coarse state of natural self-focus and prods us with the tools of circumstance toward refinement. No difficult experience is without his spiritual intention, and we’re given lots of opportunity to get the irregularities knocked off of us.

None of it feels good and can include anything from “uncomfortable” to “excruciating”. Mary is currently enduring a long refining process in her fight with cancer and chemo, putting her toward the excruciating end of things. Though she often seems already-refined to us, from God’s perspective every human being (no matter how godly) always needs more.

As a reminder of this, I added a couple of “bumps” to the smooth surface of our new concrete: a 2014 penny to mark the date, and a beach stone to remind us that God always has more work to do in smoothing us out toward Christ-like-ness.

“Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Praising and Praying with Mary

1. I’m thankful for a sister who faithfully sends out these prayer reaquests and keeps everyone informed about my situation.
2. Please continue praying about feeding tube pain.