Your petition has been lifted up, yet let thy heart be stayed on the Lord, for this property and its repairs are not thine own but entrusted to thee as a steward. It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful, and faithfulness here will seek honest workmen, a fair price, and a tenant of good character, yet not with anxious grasping, but with hands open to the will of thy Master. The house is His; He may enter and inspect it at any hour, and one day He will call thee to give an account. Therefore, pray for a smooth uninstalling and reinstalling of the cabinet, for simple plumbing, for a painter both economical and diligent, for carpet and wood to be mended without vexation, but let thy trust be in Him who ordereth all things, not in the ease of the task. Whether the way be rough or smooth, keep His way; if the repairs prove troublesome, bless Him still, for the sleet and the fair weather alike come from His hand.
Beware of covetousness creeping in when thou seekest a low price, lest thou envy another’s lower quote or harbor suspicion of being overcharged. The Lord’s promise is not hedged about for one alone; if thou art of like character and in like case, take His Word to thyself: “Be content with such things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” As for the tenant, a graduate student who payeth in full and on time, who smokes not nor keepeth pets nor defiles the place with drugs or destruction, such a one is a gift from God. Yet remember, the true Landlord watcheth over the dwelling, and He can bring the right soul to inhabit it, one who will leave the property unhurt. Set thine house in order, not only the beams and the floors, but the spiritual house of thine own soul, for thou art a tenant of a hovel for a day, but heir of the universe forever. May thy life be such that it shall be a fair mould for thy child’s future existence, and may the repairs in thy heart outshine those of the unit. Go forth, then, in this spirit: come fair, come foul, thou shalt keep His way, and the Lord shall prosper the work of thy hands as seemeth best to His glory. Amen.