Time of Tears

Here is the context of this adventure:

We had moved to the ‘Promised Land’ – Canada. We bought property in Clearwater, BC and proceeded to build a log house. This episode takes place during the log house building.

But I must mention the pivotal ‘Time of Tears’. My tears of frustration flowed abundantly when I hit a snag peeling the logs. Besides breadwinner, I was the main bark-peeler on the team. When I peeled the bark off the logs right after they were felled, it slid off easily. It was like peeling ripe bananas. However, what a shock I got when I started to peel the bark off the logs that had been sitting all winter! The bark would not budge. Frozen on the log as if stuck on with Gorilla Glue, it defied all my grunting, groaning efforts to lift it off. Now what to do? No peeled logs, no log house. Stumped. Sitting on one of the obstinate bark-covered logs, I put my head in my hands. I took big gulps of air, trying not to drown in despair. It seemed to me like the end of the road. The end of a dream.

Now, as a mature Christian with an intimate, trusting relationship with Jesus, I would have stopped right there and prayed. I would have asked Jesus for His divine peace to replace my human despair. I would have waited in confident anticipation for His answer to my prayer. His perfect way out of my crisis. Alas! At that time, I was still in the driver’s seat of my life and Jesus was just my passenger. I felt it was totally up to me to overcome this hurdle. But Jesus was a sneaky passenger. He quietly reached over and put His hands over mine on the steering wheel. Turning the wheel ever so slightly, He got me through the crisis and back on track. It was not the end of the road, just a bend in the road to our dream.

Of course, Bill and I assumed that the solution came about by our clever problem-solving and dogged persistence. Yes, in part that was true. But now, years later, with the hindsight of a deeper faith, I clearly see Jesus’ hands on the steering wheel.

So how was the battle between stubborn bark and human determination finally won? Bill and I decided to seek advice.

“Ken,” Bill said to our logger neighbor, “how do we peel the logs when the bark is frozen on?”

Ken’s Matter-of-fact answer came readily. “A tiger torch. Blast the bark section by section, with the fiery heat of the propane torch. This thaws out the bark and, voila! The bark will peel off like the skin off a dead rabbit.”

We did. And it did. It took more work and more time than with fresh logs, but we ended up with all the logs beautifully naked and ready to be made into a house.

Question:

What time in your life did you win the battle with a big obstacle? How did you do it? Who did you give the credit to?