From the Revd Jassica Castillo-Burley December 2025
“Except the LORD build the house, They labour in vain that build it: Except the LORD keep the city, The watchman wakes but in vain.” Psalm 127:1
Over the last few weeks, Roy Burley has been renovating the porch at St. Paul’s Church. After years of weathering and being exposed to many adverse conditions, it’s beauty and shine had been eroded. Roy has had to strip back paint, fill or replace rotten wood, paint and seal. The results are remarkable
Talking to Roy he said that he had been experiencing a restoration of his own spiritual house. Pain and loss had brought him to a place where just like the porch he had been overwhelmed by the pressures of life. While he was restoring the porch, God was restoring him, giving him a newness of life and a fresh outlook
Our lives undergo the same process of weathering – loss, grief, stress, pain and disappointment. These all way down on us. The end result is often broken, shattered lives
God calls us back to him so that he can do a work of renovation and restoration. Jesus is looking for individuals who will surrender their lives to him so that he can make them over
Psalm 127:1 emphasizes that human effort without divine blessing is ultimately unproductive, highlighting the importance of God's involvement in all of life's endeavors, including building homes, raising families, and protecting communities. The "house" can represent more than a physical building; it can also symbolize ourselves, a family, a household, or a sense of security and identity. We see from Roy’s account that it was a spiritual house that required God’s help and intervention. We can only get to this place by putting our trust in God for success and provision
As we enter advent, when we anticipate the birth of Jesus, may Jesus the carpenter and master builder bring restoration in the areas of our lives that have been damaged. So that as we move into Christmas we may meet Jesus with our house renovated, restored and ready for whatever he has for us in the New Year
Revd Jassica
courtesy of Parish Life
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