Construction Sites of Life

The phrase "I learn from the past, live in the present, and plan for the future" encapsulates this holistic approach to growth and in constructing a fulfilled life. But construction is messy, and some parts are not fun, even though they are necessary.

“A time to tear down and a time to build up.” Ecclesiastes 3:3.

Not all tearing down is bad; you could simply be re-inventing yourself or your life. Sometimes, it’s simply to make room for far better things. C.S. Lewis dealt best with this: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you’re not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” 

Ever looked back and realised, like C.S. Lewis, that God’s been doing a splendid new thing and what you’ve been through is a ‘mansion renovation’? Growing your life also means growing yourself. These life construction times are stressful and will highlight areas in which you’re not coping as well as you want – stress points where you act out of character. This is your opportunity to look at how you perform under pressure and deal with those areas that aren’t working for you.

Life reconstruction is a time of rebuilding, restoring or restructuring.

In the season of tearing down and building up, there will inevitably be reconstruction. When we deconstruct or take something apart, we can analyse how it works. As we reduce something to its constituent parts, we can understand it better and re-interpret it. In design, it’s called reverse engineering. It’s a good concept to understand and use during your tearing-down and building-up seasons.

In reverse engineering, you start with the ‘end product’ and work backwards to its component parts. Applying this to your life, what’s the ‘end product’ of your life in this season - what does this time in your life look like? What’s the fruit of your life? If you start from this endpoint of results that you have in your life right now, you can assess what you’ll keep and what you’re not happy with. Take the parts you’re not happy with and reverse engineer them by asking questions like ‘why did I start doing this? and thinking about the actions that created this situation. You’ll usually find that it stems from wanting to meet a need in your life. Face that need, and then ask, ‘how can I meet that need in a way that will produce the kind of life I want so I won’t keep doing this?’ Listen, then act.

Now, if you’re at the point where the ‘end product’ of your life right now is not working for you, then the good news is that your reverse engineering is going to lead you to deconstruct so you can get to the components that aren’t working. You’ll see what went wrong with these components of your life. Then you can use these components correctly to reconstruct a better life. 

Did you use faulty planning, sloppy workmanship, or inferior materials? In reconstructing your life, you'd reassess how you planned and if your plan dealt with the contingencies and was realistic. While you spend time restoring and restructuring, ask God to reveal areas you did not put the work in that were needed or did not operate in the knowledge and skills for the situation. For example, in relationships, did you allow growth for the other person and yourself, and were you lovingly present for them in the relationship? Did you build this or other areas of your life shoddily, uncaringly or without thought? Are you living in a rush-rush state of being, just hurtling through your life to some end point you’ll feel would be better? If your life is a construction site, take time to answer these questions. If you start from this end point of results you have in your life right now, you can assess what you’ll keep and what you’re not happy with. Now, if you’re at the point where the ‘end product’ of your life right now is not working, your reverse engineering is going to lead you to deconstruct so you can get to the components that are not working. What went wrong with these components of your life? Did you use faulty planning, sloppy workmanship, or inferior materials? Are you living in a rush-rush state of being, just rushing through your life to some end point you’ll feel would be better? 

Your time spent in reverse engineering will give you powerful truth nuggets about yourself and how you think and live that you can shape, perfect or use in all your seasons in life. That’s what makes this season so powerful as a growth season, even in your construction phase.

Start your time with God with this simple prayer: 'Loving Creator, help me to work with You to reconstruct my life into a palace You’ll delight in.' Then listen to God and to your own knowledge of the situation. Journal, pray, listen and do. You’ll then be able, as C.S. Lewis put it, to see God build a palace that He intends to come and live in Himself.

Build on what works. If it’s all working, you don’t need to use reverse engineering for anything more than to find the formula that made it work and apply it to your construction season. Ask, ‘Why is this working so well, and how can I use this formula in this season of my life to make my life even better?’ Nothing succeeds like success, so use your success to build your life. 

By analysing our history, we enhance our emotional intelligence, cultivate resilience, and build a strong sense of self-awareness. Importantly, the ability to learn from the past is not merely about avoiding mistakes; it also involves recognising and replicating those successes. Reflecting on past experiences allows us to extract valuable lessons that inform our present and future decisions.  You have the power of history – you know what worked and what didn’t in the past for you.

So, learning from the past, living in the present, and being present in awareness of what is going on in your life, you can plan for the future. Every challenge faced and every success achieved acts as a beacon of insight, steering us away from potential pitfalls and towards opportunities as we construct our lives. 

Living in the present allows us to appreciate life as it unfolds and deal with those areas that need reconstructing. While it is vital to learn from past experiences, it is equally important to engage fully with the present moment. Being present in the present moment allows us to be aware of our lives in this moment and make decisions for the situation as it is. It helps in building a strong today, which is the foundation for tomorrow.

Constructing needs a clear plan. Your deconstructing to reconstruct has identified the faulty part, the wrong decision or the problem. Now you have the knowledge to reimagine and build right. And that needs a clear, realistic plan that can be built. With insights gained from our past and a conscious awareness of our present, we can effectively plan for the future. This planning involves setting clear goals and outlining actionable steps to achieve them. A well-structured plan helps us remain focused and motivated, ensuring that we do not lose sight of our aspirations amidst the daily grind. By envisioning the future and preparing accordingly, we not only enhance our chances of success but also instil a sense of purpose in our lives. The future is a reflection of our current actions, influenced by the lessons we've learned from our past. 

When you’re standing staring at the hole in the wall and unfinished floors and rooms a long way into the renovation, it’s hard to see that perfect vision of the project. And it’s during these times, in house or life renovation, when you hold onto your vision of the completed project to keep you going. "Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight not as one who beats the air." 1 Corinthians 9:26. If you know how long the race is, you’ll know when to sprint and when to jog, how to train and plan. It makes sense to know what the endpoint is that you are moving toward, because it'll give you strength to run with certainty. 

Growing your life also means growing yourself. Construction times are stressful and will highlight areas where you’re not coping – those stress points where you act out of character. This is your opportunity to look at just how you perform under pressure and deal with those areas that are not working. 

-What is the central plan in this building and tearing down season?

-What is the reason for you being in this season? Prayer will help to clarify this. But also take note of the patterns in your life – recurring themes of your life.

-Where are the areas in your life that are torn down and need rebuilding, restoring or restructuring? 

-How do you personally have to change or grow through some form of reconstruction? Do you have to rebuild your confidence? Restore your faith? Restructure the way you’ve been living? Take the time to think about how the different aspects of restructuring should be applied to your life.

Help others in their construction. When you are in the midst of tearing down and building up, you have an affinity with those around you that are also living in the midst of building rubble. Take someone’s hand amid their building project, lend a hand as you can, listen and learn from them and share your wisdom. One of the greatest things you can do with the power in the season of tearing down and building up is to use it in the lives of others. By purposely finding others amid their construction sites to build up, you’ll ease the pressure of all the focus on your issues. It stops you from having all your focus inward. 

Ecclesiastes 3 is a profoundly relevant chapter to help you understand life and how to live it. It’s intended to make you think about where you’re going and how you get there. By presenting you with the opposing seasons you’ll experience in life, Ecclesiastes 3 challenges you to think about what really matters, what really gives meaning to life and how you will translate that into action. Seasons, the hard ones and the easy ones, can be the revelation of seeing your life as the adventure God intends it to be. Through real-life stories, you’ll find the lessons and growth points that will show that the seasons of your life are a gift - to grow, to discover yourself and the infinite abundance of God - in the good seasons and in the challenging ones. You’ll discover that each season has God's special empowerment for that season. Ecclesiastes 3 answers the question of what the profit and purpose of our labour is. “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour – it is the gift of God.” A gift God wants you to enjoy to the fullest. Understanding the season you are in and its purpose in the real-life situations you face will bring you to the same conclusion: that God makes everything beautiful in its time.

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