Tested and Testing

I posted a few pics of the layout on Facebook yesterday, and among the comments was this gem from a long-time friend of mine: "as long as I've know Andy, it's (Lego) not a toy, it's a way of life........!" 

Yesterday I managed to bring all 4 sections of the layout together for the first time and in the space of a couple of hours it definitely reflected my life! Relief at seeing it all come together and click together, frustration at some power supply issues, reduced time available due to a miscommunication over holiday dates, a big grin when it all worked out after some minor tweaks. I'm not going to give examples, but I'm sure all of us can think of occasions of joy, frustration, etc and I experienced a range of them yesterday!

But it works. After 8 weeks of building, separated occasionally by periods of waiting for pieces to be delivered, and doubting whether it would all work as one layout when I could only see the smaller sections at any given time, I can say it works. Not brilliantly

yet, but it works.

There are improvements I can make, and will do, over coming weeks. We rarely get things right the first time. I have years of building experience to help me out with Lego problems. Life has tested me out in all sorts of ways this past year, and I'm thankful that as a Christian I can say that in all those testing times I can look back and see how God has been there in all of them, changing me, rebuilding me, re-focussing me. And in my own way, celebrating the creativity He has given me, building this has been an act of worship. After all, they are not my bricks but His Bricks.