“Do you hear them?” she asked her friend as they were taking a walk through their new neighborhood.
“Hear what?” he asked, looking around.
“Hear those houses.”
Now he looked at her. “Um… you can hear houses?” He frowned at her, concerned that she had finally lost it. “I know you’re a bit sleep deprived, but…”
She laughed. “No, I’m not going crazy. I don’t actually hear them talking like I hear you. But I do hear a message.”
“What message?”
Instead of answering, she asked him a question. “What if they could talk, what would they be saying to you?”
He looked at them a few minutes, cocked his head, frowned and said, “I give up. I can’t hear anything.”
“OK, then, what do you think of when you look at them?”
He studied them a bit longer. “I think of the potential each one has. And how they all seem to have the same basic construction plan but small changes makes them each unique.”
“You don’t think a finished one is better than an unfinished one? The finished ones are much prettier to look at.”
“No, they’re just in different stages of construction. One house is not better than another just because it’s further along. They are all interesting in whatever stage they’re in. And one day they will all provide strong, well built homes for the people who will move into them.”
“Exactly.” She sighed. “It’s just like us. Like people. We are all in different stages of development. Some look more finished than others. Some are nicer to look at, or listen to. But all of us are being built by the Master and are perfect in whatever stage we’re in. If only we weren’t so quick to judge others by what we see instead of by what God sees.”
“Is that the message you’re hearing?”
“Yes. We – people – are new homes being built. We are all made from a basic plan yet the Master has made each of us unique. We are all as we should be at whatever stage we’re in and we should stand content in the progress our Father is making as He molds and builds us. And most of all, we should allow other people to be at different stages than we are in. We should be delighting in their progress instead of comparing and judging them.”
She turned and looked at her friend. “I have to admit, I’m as guilty as anyone else. But that’s going to change. With God’s help, that’s going to change.”
He smiled at her, took her hand, and together, they continued on their walk.
She crossed the foyer and went straight to the doorway leading to the pastor’s living quarters and knocked on the door.
Amazing God Stories 