Depression.... I have been sitting watching a documentary on "depression". It said "One in five people battle with it." It gave descriptions and told stories of suicide etc. I decided to stop watching... too close to home and too ... well "depressing". If the descriptions they give are true, I battle some sort of depression. The stories rang bells.... though I think I have learned to manage the bouts and just dig deep and plod on, with support. (A few weeks ago I really got depressed) But I am thankful this weekend. A few things have felt good.
Habitat for Humanity house....We are building a house in Half-way bush with a Maori family with a lot of kids. They are delightful people to work with and of course, all the extended whanau join in. We have had some great days on site but yesterday, Saturday was one of those good days when things went especially well.
On Friday a few of us went up over lunch hour to fix some things before a building inspection. It passed the inspection which enabled us to be clear to put the roof on. I stewed about how we were going to do it and turned up on Saturday ready for work. We measured and drilled the iron. The wind grew in intensity and we thought it was probably blowing too much to do the job. My friend Richard said, "Let's give it a go, aye? What's the worst that can happen?" There seemed to be a lot of people turning up to work so we had enough people to help. We set up a team and began. The first sheet went on without too much of a hitch. The second also... but suddenly there was a crash. One sheet had blown away and crashed to the ground, denting badly. I began to think the worst, but we were making steady progress. We sat Martin on the pile of iron to act as a "paper weight". Then Tony a roofer turned up and got us more organised. We felt more confident and we worked our way down one side of the house. ... "lunch time!" I thought. We agreed to stop for lunch... but roofer man Tony said he had to go soon... so we buckled down and started the other side. We had everybody on site working like a well oiled machine, under Tony's direction. It was such a great experience, Paper... Iron... screws... paper.. iron ... screws.. and within a short time the second half of the house was covered and we did stop for lunch. I must admit to feeling worn out! After a bite to eat I was catching my breath and two young guys said, "What now boss?" (I am third in line to being boss actually) They were so keen. I thought up a couple of jobs and immediately all hands ripped into it with great gusto. Martin got prepared and in time got crew wrapping up the house. Having done the roof, everyone was buzzing. The positive energy was incredible, people from children through to the oldest adult were looking for ways to help. We had over thirty volunteers that day. It was soo good. A landscaper was driving past and dropped in to offer to help with the landscaping. He caught the bug and ended up hammering away there. "I just dropped by to talk?" he said. I had to laugh. I was hammering ceiling battens next to him, and he asked, "Are you really a Pastor?" I get asked that a lot.... maybe its because sometimes a swear word slips out?? I dropped off the scaffold into the house toward the end of the day and saw Mike, the house owner wandering through his house looking. "How are we Mike?" I asked. "Oh boy" he replied, "I am so stoked! It is so great!" As people left I tried to thank them for their work. Often the reply was, "No.. thank you! That was great!" Two students who come regularly were saying goodbye. I said, "Thanks guys, we did well, I hope you enjoyed it?" "That was great! Today was a real blast! See you next week." It was just one of those days. I am a bit stiff and sore today, but the whole experience made me feel good about humanity, God and the world in general. Even my fights about Church music were forgotten.
Today was good... Spring is nearly here and it is good to wake up knowing that you are not going to have to contend biting winds and ice or snow. I thought I did a good job this morning at church. I got some positive feed back. A nice walk/run in the sun with good conversation this afternoon completed a weekend that made me feel good about my life, but ready for a relaxing day off tomorrow. I have also had good telephone conversations with my three sons. It is so good that they want to catch up on their old man.
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