Florida Catholic | Soul Repairs

For soul repairs, call a divine handyman

RICK HERMANN

Published: 02.22.08

We all know we
are broken in
some way and
we all need the healing hand of
Christ.”

If we only knew how much our Lord wants to help us fix the problems in our lives and how skillful he really is, we might turn to him sooner rather than later.

We would gladly place ourselves completely in his loving hands.

To glimpse this approach to fixing everything demonstrated in a down-to-earth manner, I recommend an entertaining television series called “This Old House.” It features a delightful cast of super-handy tradesmen who show up with all the right tools to fix everyday problems in ordinary homes. They tackle every project with great confidence and enthusiasm and, after a while, they usually uncover an unexpected problem caused by the homeowner’s neglect or lack of knowledge.

A recent episode featured my favorite character, Norm Abram, an experienced carpenter with a red-checkered shirt, thick eyeglasses and big calloused hands. As he carefully removed the siding from a house, he discovered a long-hidden water leak in the roof that had seeped down, rotting the wood foundation of the home.

He showed the homeowner the problem and said, “This has to be fixed or it will ruin your whole house.”

The homeowner appeared shocked by the revelation, but glad to discover the source of the problem and the extent of the damage.

Relieved to be in the presence of a capable and honest repairman, the homeowner gratefully gave permission to proceed to fix the problem. When Norm was finished, the house was fixed perfectly and everyone was smiling.

This popular show appeals to me because it represents what Jesus wants to do for us. He wants to fix us up. He wants to make us better than ever.

The Master Carpenter seeks to renew us, to fix us in our broken places and make us good as new.

He already knows exactly what needs fixing. “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (1 Jn 3:20).

He wants to unplug our stopped-up communications, repair our rusty relationships, restore the crumbling foundations of our lives and upgrade the circuits of our minds.

We all know we are broken in some way and we all need the healing hand of Christ. We need only call upon him. He will quickly go to work on us with infinite care and marvelous results.

Most of us know that we have a drippy habit needing transformation, a broken heart in need of mending or a dark room in our soul requiring new light. However, we neglect it because we are afraid to investigate it alone.

We fear that the problem may be too big for us to solve or we expect the problem has no solution. Most daunting of all, we do not believe we know anyone capable enough to fix the problem.

We need to realize that our Creator has all the answers.

We need to trust his promise that he has our best interests at heart. Then we can run to him with confidence.

We may have to wait awhile for him to finish his work, but he promises to make us perfect in his time. We just need to remember to allow him to proceed on his divine schedule and not expect him to meet our impatient deadlines.

So let us call on the “Master Craftsman” to come fix us today. He is willing to help us, he is wanting to help us and he is waiting to help us. All we need to do is ask.

Soon we will hear an eager knock on our door and a reassuring voice saying, “I will build you up, and not tear you down” (Jer 42:10).

Hermann is a Catholic writer, author and speaker. He welcomes feedback at RH222@sbcglobal.net

For soul repairs, call a divine handyman

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