Double Decker

Last Fall I built the lower deck onto the Wimberley house and felt pretty good about it. Last week I helped build a deck for a struggling church in New Orleans as a Katrina recovery volunteer and felt REALLY good about it.

You know that sweet feeling you get when things seem to happen in perfect order? How about when you get to apply lessons learned earlier in life in a way you did not expect? Like when you have a big struggle, but months later you discover someone in a similar situation who can benefit from your experience?

That's the way things seemed to fall in place with the New Orleans deck, as our team was rushing to get things finished before nightfall on our last workday. All the experience from the Wimberley deck came flowing back, with a knowing that the New Orleans deck would be done in time. And done right, at least to the non-perfectionist eye...

So, unlike our previous New Orleans missions that made me feel a bit guilty about blowing money on a weekend house, this one gave me a new perspective. A perspective on the Wimberley construction as a stepping stone to do more, not just as a task unto itself. After working on the house for more than a year and feeling anxious to be done, that helps. Because I'm a long way from being done. At Wimberley, and beyond. (Stolen from Buzz Lightyear)