The Delay Has Ended

Delayed Gratification: Work and sacrifice now, with the anticipation of a greater reward in the end. The delay has ended, and now it's gratification time.

Back in August, my church adopted one of the homes hit by last year's flood. Four months of hard work will pay off this week, as we give the homeowner the key to her newly remodeled house. Due to other commitments, I haven't worked on the house for the last couple of weeks... the time when things really come together. But I did take the opportunity to walk through the nearly-finished house this morning. Though it's incredibly cold outside, I was warmed with the satisfaction of doing good for someone.

As I sit here, trying to channel my thoughts into coherent words, I completely fail. Four months... it seems like a long time. But compared to how long the homeowner has been without a house, it's not that long. It seems like we started the project ages ago, but when you consider that we've only worked weekends, it went by quickly.

Jeff and Julie, the true project leaders, were great. They devoted EVERY weekend -- and many weeknights -- to this renovation. They were the ones who worked with the bureaucracy to get us what we needed to get the home remodeled... the ones who were on site, without fail... the ones with the vision of the final outcome... the ones who put little touches on the house, like a Christmas wreath on the front door, and new wash cloths (wrapped in a purple bow) in the bathrooms...

Today, as I did a final walk through the house, before the homeowner moves back in, I heard from Jeff and Julie that the bureaucrats who doled out the money (and the restrictions) stated that our work and results were among the finest they had seen. Though I realize this may have been nothing but lip service, it was gratifying nonetheless. That, however, is nothing compared to the knowledge that I helped make a flooded house better than it was before the devastation.