| Most of you know we are in the middle of a massive renovation project. We are through much of ugly work and about to start on the “pretty stuff”. Paint being the most obvious. It got me thinking, the amount of work that went into that place all to just get covered up with drywall and then, ultimately paint. It is hard to see and to appreciate all the work that has been done to our home. When you walk into a space and see a really pretty room, with nice furnishings and an inviting color, you feel a certain way and say, “wow what a nice room”. But do you really know what went into getting to the point of a nice room? Do you know the nails and wood and screws and mud and wires and dirt, blood, sweat that are all the components of that room? Usually not. Aren’t we the same way? We paint our exterior, sometimes literally, and it makes for a nice facade. We can look at people and say, “oh what a pleasant person” or the opposite, “oh what a crabby person,” and never know what all went into making that person who they are. We don’t know the nails and the splinters and the broken framing and the loose wires that have accumulated over the last however many years. We don’t know if that person’s parents built a solid foundation for them. We don’t know how much effort it took to get the outward face to be straight and true and plumb. We only judge that person on what we see, then, there, in that moment. Just like a house, we use paint and caulk and furniture to dress up a space and project a feeling, a face. We hide all the structure. No one gets to see it, appreciate it, marvel at how you are still standing. How you endure the storms. I’m not saying to be an open book and share your framing with everyone. I am more saying to everyone, before you decide if a person’s outward projection is ugly, consider the framing. It is possible that what you see is not what you consider beautiful BUT considering what’s underneath, it is miraculous. It is amazing and strong and the best possible outcome given the foundation, framing and underneath parts. |
