Seeking God

 By Sister Cecelia

Seeking to do God’s will in all things is what monasticism is all about. It encompasses all the nitty-gritty happenings in all our lives.

At the Nuns’ monastery, after 30-plus years the door and door frame opening to a second-floor deck had succumbed to all the snows and rainfalls and was rotting along the bottom. It took 3 months for a replacement door to arrive and another few months for it to be installed. Further investigation of the deck itself revealed extensive rotting that needed attention.

Through many years of repairs to the wooden deck itself, it appeared to be a lost cause. How long would the wood last, since so many coats of stain and preservative had been applied and the wood floor and railing were still cracked with so much snow and rain on it? How long would a repair last before someone leaned against the railing and went tumbling down? Or a floorboard gave when stepped on? We do trust in God, but we also know that God expects us to use our heads when we approach these problems or challenges. Letting go seems easier for some than for others, but everyone needs some kind of juggling act as we try to balance common sense and prudence with what the Gospel summon us to do when making decisions.

It turned out, as the work commenced, that the wood of the deck itself was still in pretty good shape in spite of the splitting. Our maintenance company, Mikel and Shelly Claus, ordered what was needed, including the availability of a lift to reach the outdoor second floor area. 

They started the project in time to finish before winter. Now the window replacing the entry door to the deck allows more light into the hallway.

That’s a good thing—at least until summer. It was most interesting to see how the lift worked while support boards to hold the deck in place were being cut.

We were grateful that activity was not during our quiet retreat time, as the cutting was quite noisy for ourselves and our guests. When the siding boards were removed so they could be replaced with longer boards covering the cut areas, an unpleasant discovery was revealed. The upright structural 2 x 6’s under the supports for the deck were black with rot, and the insulation was dripping wet. We thanked God that the vapor barrier had prevented the sheetrock on the interior walls from being damaged.

However, the wet insulation and rotting wood went down another whole floor, ever widening its path. Even more of the 2 x 6’s supporting the structure were rotting in places. This finding reminded me of the joke about the farmer in a small village in some small country ruled by a dictator. His son fell off his horse and broke his leg—a bad thing. Then soldiers came to collect all the able-bodied young men and conscript them into the army. The broken leg was a good thing after all. The story went on: first an event that seemed bad, then seemed a good thing, then a bad thing, and so on. If our door had not been replaced and the deck had not been removed—a seemingly bad thing that turned into a good thing—how much more damage would have happened in time to come!

The structural supports were repaired by attaching 2 x 6’s above and below where the wood was rotten. New 2 x 6’s are slightly wider than aged 2 x 6’s, so some adjustments, sanding or shaving off, had to be done. Then the old wet insulation was replaced with dry. The picture shows how extensive the repair job came to be as more rotten wood was found. 

The weather did not always co-operate, so on many days no work was possible. As work progressed, the crew always applied a cover at the end of the day so the area would not be soaked by wind and rain.

They couldn’t finish before winter after all because of those unforeseen problems, and the lift works only in above-20-degree temperatures, so it took a while, but some unseasonably warm spells allowed completion of the job at last. The two valiant maintenance contractors worked through rain, wind, and snow to finish their work.

Finally, the wall is safe. It looks like a checkerboard with the old and new siding, but come spring the whole side will receive another coating and then look great.

If we had not had to replace the door, we would not have known the deck needed to be replaced. If we had not had to replace the deck, we would not have known that water had been getting in behind the siding for 30 years, causing structural damage.

Thanks to God for giving us patience and trust to face all the ups and downs of life. What Jesus called Blessed is a heartfelt and joy-filled reliance on our all-provident Father, needing a certain detachment from all alternative sources of security. In our attempts to do God’s will in all things it seems we are required to be good stewards of what we have been given.

Our hard work and efforts are necessary, but they do not define the end result. We do what we can, but our labors are subsidiary. This is a cause for celebration, not for gloom. God is at work in our world!