"The Home God Took Apart"

 

"The Home God Took Apart"

We thought it was perfect.

The little house we built with our own hands—
The walls painted with memories,
The windows letting in just enough light,
The roof patched up with plans and prayers.
It wasn’t grand, but it was ours.

Then God came to visit.

He walked through the rooms quietly,
Fingertips brushing the edges of photographs,
Eyes resting on the cracks we’d grown used to.
He smiled—
Not at what was,
But at what could be.

And then, He began to tear it down.

One wall at a time.
The ones we leaned on.
The ones we built to keep others out.
The ones we built to hide behind.

We cried out,
"Why are You doing this?
This is our shelter!
This is where we’ve lived so long!"

But He kept working,
Unmoved by our panic,
Steady with purpose.

Brick by brick,
He cleared the ground.

And there, in the dust and silence,
He whispered,
"I’m not destroying your home—
I’m expanding it."

So He laid a new foundation.
Deeper. Stronger.
He carved hallways wide enough for grace to walk through.
He placed windows that faced heaven,
So the light could pour in without asking.

He built rooms we never dared to dream of,
Spaces for laughter, healing, and purpose.
A mansion, not made with human hands,
But crafted by divine design.

And slowly,
We understood.

Sometimes God has to take apart what we cling to,
To give us what we were made for.
Not to hurt us—
But to rebuild us.

Not to take from us—
But to give us more.

And the mansion He builds
Will always be
Home.

Sometimes, life feels like it’s falling apart:

• We lose something we thought was essential a job, a relationship, an opportunity.

• We go through hard trials: sickness, disappointment, failure, financial hardship, family struggles.
  We wonder, "I’m trying to be a good person so why is this happening to me?"

• We feel like we’re doing our best, yet life keeps getting harder.

These moments might feel like God is “tearing down your house.”

But what’s really happening is this:

God sees a bigger future for you than you see for yourself.

He knows your “house” might have weak walls, small windows, or parts that won’t last through the storms ahead. So, in love not punishment He begins to rebuild.
Not because you’re failing, but because He wants to bless you with something far greater than you imagined.

What Can We Do to Let Him Work on Us?

We need to remember:
Everything we have our health, our talents, our family, even our time is given to us by God.
With one thought, our entire situation could change.

So what can we possibly give to Him that He doesn’t already own?

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said it best:
“The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar… it is the only possession which is truly ours to give.”

That’s our sacred offering: the willingness to follow Him voluntarily.

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Sometimes we rely too much on our own talents or strength. We think, “God gave me this gift, so I can handle this myself.”
But the truth is He already owns those gifts.

So what else can we do, so He can truly build us into who we’re meant to become?

• Trust the Builder   even when life doesn’t make sense.

• Let go of control  we often cling to what’s small and safe, while God is offering us more.

• Be patient construction takes time. So does growth.

• Watch for what He’s creating  the blessings may not come right away, but they will come.

   

🎸 Another Analogy: The Guitar

Think of life like a guitar.

If you flip it over and try to play the back, what kind of sound will it make?
Probably none. But technically, you can choose to play it that way. That’s your will.

If you flip it the right way and start strumming without learning anything about music without chords, rhythm, or practice it might make noise, but it won’t make music.

Now, imagine taking the time to learn.
You study the chords, learn timing, understand harmony, and practice every day.

Suddenly, you can make music that moves people.

You can lift hearts, inspire smiles, bring peace.
People will want to sing with you. Some might cry not out of sorrow, but because your song touches something deep in their soul

That’s what this is all about.

Letting God shape us into who we’re meant to be.
Putting in the effort to learn, to grow, to seek Him through scripture, prayer, service, and love.

When we’re humble enough to allow this transformation,
we become instruments in His hands.

Like a beautiful song, we begin to inspire others not to become like us, but to become more like Him.

They will feel our love.
They will feel His warmth.
And they’ll want to sing along each in their own way, following Him along their own path.

And that is the music of discipleship.
That is the mansion He’s building.
That is what it means to trust the Master Builder.