September 25

Proverbs 24:3-4
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

I live in a 50-60 year old neighborhood. Many of the homes in the neighborhood are that yucky one story brick ranch of 1961. But most sit on lots of 3/4 to 1+ acre with beautiful mature hardwords and loads of loblolly pine trees.
During the early 2000s, many lots were bought, the houses were razed and some big McMansions were built. So now, we have more than our share of vacant lots. Recently, one of the lots that has been vacant for at least 5 years has had the site work done on it and foundation and framing have started.
When Cole got back from taking Howler around the block yesterday, he commented on how fast that house was going up. Yes, framing is fast. But the rest of it, the interior work takes so very, very long. This is because not all subs can work at the same time. Lots of things have to come in a very specific order. We have a house that was built behind us (maybe I should say built 3 times...) during the heyday of the boom that had the interior walls torn out not once but twice because they put the sheetrock up before the plumbing and electrical were installed. Now, that is a crappy builder! That house has changed hands several times and every time, the boys want me to run over to the new owners and tell them all the icky stuff about the construction (the shored up walls, the mudded over sheetrock cracks, the enormous sink hole that has opened twice... But not my business. Plus, I would have to explain why the children and I spent so much time going through that house as it was constructed. In my defense, it was started when Cole was in a stroller and finished long after he and Matthew were visiting the creek and the storm sewers on their own. It took a long, long time for that house to be built and rebuilt.

But even once a house is built, it requires incessant maintenance. There is literally a 2 page list in my binder of stuff that needs doing around here 'when we get a round to it'. And the list never seems to shrink!

So, back to Solomon's building metaphor about wisdom. Yes, it takes time and smarts to build a quality home. And it takes time and experience to accumulate wisdom. And it is the mistakes (tearing out walls twice!!) that teach you the most.
I don't know that I have rare and exquisite treasures but I am hopeful that my home and my store of wisdom is at least comfortable.
And no, I didn't sell my home to the realtor who offered us 450,000 for it. I just added on. No money, only worth half that now, children leaving the nest. Not sure that I built smart....

Let me know how you built smart. Much love to each of you. Stick with me. We are closing in on the final quarter!!