By much slothfulness the building decayeth, and through idleness of the hands the house leaks. – Ecclesiastes 10:18

One of the standard and unavoidable truths that comes with buying a historic home is the fact of ongoing repairs. We anticipate a number of issues cropping up pretty much every year, understanding that this is par for the course – so we have planned accordingly.

It would have been nice to get a pass at least for the first twelve months, but we are starting out strong and you just can’t skip something like a leaky roof. Actually, two leaks, one in the front and one in the back.

The situation came into focus when our grandson, David, said, “Grandaddy, there’s water coming in through the ceiling.” He was in bed at the time and it was dripping right there on him!

So I had a couple of different guys come out and the second one pinpointed the problem. “The shingles were not installed to code,” he said. “They are supposed to overlap by a lot more than this.”

Then he showed me. Sure enough someone took a short cut a few years ago, and we are paying for it today. Water had been able to blow up under the shingles and, probably over a couple or more years, it rusted some nails and seeped through to the roofing material which then started to rot until the rain dripped all the way into the bedroom below.

Unfortunately the entire roof covering the kitchen and guest room had been compromised by poor workmanship, so we needed to have the entire section removed, the rotted decking replaced, underlayment installed and probably close to six hundred square foot of shingles nailed in.

Costly, yes, but there is always hope:

The principle of doing anything right the first time is huge, and it has implications in our lives across the board. But it is also true that problems can be fixed. Poor workmanship can be redone, shoddy materials replaced, bad decisions rethought. Even years of neglect and destruction can be put right.

Now, of course, I am not just talking about our restored, redeemed, renovated, resurrected house – I am taking about restoration and redemption for people too.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. – Psalm 139:7-8

R&B singer Marvin Gaye put it this way: “Ain’t no mountain high enough… Ain’t no valley low enough… Ain’t no river wide enough…”

There is no place where we cannot be reached, and put right, by the redemptive love of God!

This is great news! This is the whole point of faith! This is the Good Story! – DEREK