I\u2019d griped for weeks, ever since I first saw the sign that the Craggy Bridge over the French Broad River would be closed for several weeks. We live out in the country and that\u2019s my favorite back way into town since traffic is often a mess on the main roads.<\/p>\n
When construction started, it was as bad as I\u2019d imagined. More cars were now funneled onto the already busy main roads, adding 30 minutes or longer each way. It didn\u2019t help that I\u2019d leave home each time forgetting that the bridge was closed, meaning that I\u2019d get almost to it and would then have to detour, adding even more time.<\/span><\/p>\n I griped some more as I knew it would be weeks before the bridge opened again. It seemed like it took forever. But my first drive over the repaired bridge was eye-opening. <\/span><\/p>\n The old one had been filled with potholes, and I\u2019d often bumped my way across it to the stop sign. <\/span>The sidewalks had been crumbling, and I\u2019m sure there had been safety issues under the bridge that I couldn\u2019t see\u2014like deteriorating concrete and rusting metal.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, riding over it feels like driving across silk because it\u2019s so smooth. Not a pothole anywhere. The structure is safer and looks so much nicer. The construction and repairs made it worth every minute I\u2019d had to detour.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s when God whispered, \u201cIt\u2019s exactly the same way for My children. Sometimes I have to shut you down for repairs so I can make you a better Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n Our Father sees those safety issues, the flaws in us that will keep us from serving Him at full capacity. So He puts up His \u201cUnder Construction\u201d sign and goes to work, strengthening the areas that are weak and filling the potholes in our lives with His grace and forgiveness.<\/p>\n And we often gripe as we go through those times, fussing as we think God\u2019s forgotten us, that He doesn\u2019t care. But he puts us under construction because He does<\/em> care about us\u2014and the final result is worth it, to experience His new and improved version of us.<\/p>\n Does God have you under construction today? Are you going through tough times? Then rest assured that He\u2019s making something strong and beautiful out of you.<\/p>\n Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (<\/em>Philippians 1:6 )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019d griped for weeks, ever since I first saw the sign that the Craggy Bridge over the French Broad River would be closed for several weeks. We live out in the country and that\u2019s my favorite back way into town since traffic is often a mess on the main roads. When construction started, it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":27616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[14],"ppma_author":[474],"class_list":["post-17867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-positive-living","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n