Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house[.] // 1 Peter 2:4-5
It was a somewhat impulsive acquisition, I admit: an unassuming shed my dad had built decades ago to store our plethora of excess camping equipment and other assorted family paraphernalia. Decades later, it landed in my hands as a lofty “DIY” project. It will be a painfully long time before I am able to reinvent it as something wonderful, but for now I simply delight in the fact that my dear dad and brothers sawed every board and hammered every nail. And I love it.
Today’s Second Reading reminds us that when we have Christ as the cornerstone in our lives, then every offering, big or small, builds for us a spiritual home that is precious in the sight of God (see 1 Peter 2:4-9). Some days, we build well: We carve out time for quiet contemplation and time with the Lord. Our words are (mostly) patient and kind, and our actions are authentic and reveal the truth of what the Christian life ought to look like. Our spiritual home begins to grow and flourish.
Other days, sister, we (spiritually) hammer our thumbs: We speak too quickly and too harshly. We let jealousy and resentment fester. We avoid Confession. Our spiritual homes become rotting, worn, and weary.
The thing is, friend, we know that nothing this side of Heaven is built perfectly. It’s a truth my perfectionist heart is learning to accept. And yet, much like my aging shed, nothing is lost in the building either. When we cooperate in the Lord’s plan for our hearts, He redeems the hammered thumbs and hasty “fixes.” He properly tends to the leaky roof, and He shelters our hearts from intruding thoughts that steal our peace. When we place Him as our true cornerstone, our spiritual homes flourish.
Take some moments today to rest with the idea of your spiritual home. What in it brings you joy, comfort, and peace? What needs (big or small) mending? Invite the Lord again to His fitting place in your heart and ask Him to attend to that which needs fixing.
Karen Schultz hails from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where she is often found in or near one of them. As a doula, lactation educator, and FertilityCare Practitioner, she finds joy in helping women to embrace the gift of their bodies. Downtime is found in quiet adoration chapels, farmers markets and gardens, and listening to bluegrass music. She is the author of Blessed Conversations: Misericordia.
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