Roof Maintenance
by Alison Scarborough
It’s bright outside. It’s beautiful and the sun’s shining, but it’s very cold. So I’ve taken refuge in a warm little room in the Ellel Centre in Ireland. It’s warm because there’s the remnant of a fire burning, the sun is shining through the window and I have a roof over my head. It’s also very peaceful. I can hear the clock ticking and the crackle of the odd ember in the fire.
However, there’s also another noise, a persistent whirry, buzzing, humming sound. It’s not unpleasant but, for sure, could become annoying if you let it invade your thinking for too long. So what is this noise exactly? Well it’s the sound of the motor pumping water under pressure up to the roof, so the men can clean the roof of several years of accumulated moss and other debris. When the front door opened this background noise became a roar. The men are up there on the roof in the biting cold, getting chilled even further as they are sprayed with a fine mist of water, to a background of intense noise, and all because roof maintenance is so important.
Where roof maintenance is ignored the consequences can be devastating. The other day we passed a house with no roof, no covering, and it was in a sorry state. Much repair work would be needed to restore the building to its former glory.
How is your ‘roof’? Have you checked recently? Maybe you’ve felt roofless, uncovered and in need of major restoration. The accumulation of daily worries and concerns can weigh us down to the point of breaking. The above scripture says our earthly tent can be torn down, but it goes on to say we have a building from God. We are covered by God. Under His covering has to be the safest place to undergo ‘roof maintenance’ and restoration.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You cover me. Thank You for understanding where the ‘moss of worries and daily concerns’ has damaged me. Please help me to have the courage to seek You for the ‘pressure washing’ of revelation and truth that I need, in order to be fully restored to all You intended me to be. Amen.
Alison Scarborough has been part of the Ellel Ministries Team since 1997 having completed the `Nine Week School` in 1996. She has worked at Glyndley Manor, near Eastbourne, since joining team and is currently Deputy Director and one of the teachers there. She has travelled to share in teaching at some of Ellel`s other European Centres and enjoyed significant time with the Ellel Ireland team. Before joining Ellel Alison was a nurse and midwife who was especially interested in neuro-intensive care and infectious diseases.
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