DIY with God’s Grace

A do-it-yourself home improvement project gets a little boost with a prayer and some faith.

DIY prayers

School teachers by trade, my husband, Alton, and I were on a tight budget when we decided to build our first home ourselves.

Alton had worked odd jobs as a carpenter. I’d done set design work in the theater. I hoped we were up to the challenge.

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We got the foundation poured and the wall structure of the house built, but then I had some serious doubts. I worried the rest of our “do-it-yourself” project was beyond our abilities. Lord, we need you to give us a hand, I prayed one afternoon as I left Alton struggling with the beams of the roof.

When I returned, Alton ran to greet me. I couldn’t believe how much progress he’d made with those beams. The roof was practically finished.

“I had a little help,” Alton said. “After you left, I tried to bolt in the beams of the roof, only they kept swinging down before I could do it.” He gestured up. “I asked God to give me a hand. The next time I raised a beam, a strong gust of wind came in from the east. It was just the boost I needed to hold the beam perfectly in place while I bolted it!”

I looked up at the sky through the beamed roof of our home, a home we’d live in for the next 17 years. “Do it yourself” would never mean the same thing again.

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