I’ve heard this verse my whole life. (And I mean that literally because my earliest memories are of church and Sunday School 🤷‍♀️). 

But because of the way my day started, these words hit me in a whole new way. I have always thought of this verse as an important reminder to have my Maker’s strength, voice, and guidance as the foundation of all I do and “build” in life.

Today, though, the first thing I heard upon groggily waking was my husband saying, “It rained hard last night so I am going to walk around and check the house.”  Now, my first thought was appreciation for my husband because, not only did I not realize it rained hard last night, but I’m not great at noticing little things about the house that could become big problems like missing shingles or cracks in the concrete. (I’m probably too busy having conversations with birds and squirrels).

I began to think more my husband’s ongoing assessment and repair of small things that aren’t quite right with our home. All of these little but diligent and ongoing steps he takes to keep our home in good condition are steps toward creating the strong shelter that will be our place of safety and security for years to come. 

This made me think of the verse in Psalm 127 a bit differently. Building a house isn’t a “one and done” thing – not if you want it to last, anyway. It is an ongoing process of upkeep and assessment that will enable the home to be a beautiful sheltering oasis for generations. I mean, just look around at ever-changing creation and you can tell that our God isn’t a “one and  done” creator. He doesn’t breathe things into being and then leave them to decay. Seasons, night, day, weather, migration, and many other aspects of nature remind us that creation is a process.

This also makes me think of another one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 139:14, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” It’s beautiful enough when you think of this verse in the context of our intitial formation and creation in our mother’s womb. But the realization that God just doesn’t “create and release” gives me chills.

Though we may not realize it, our Maker never stops making us and keeps assessing and reforming His creation.  There are many days in each of our lives when He lovingly checks us. Perhaps he is saying even now, “Life rained down pretty hard in this child yesterday. I’m seeing some cracks. Time to patch them up!”