Workin' on a Building - Daily Inspiration

Yesterday, I found a YouTube video of Cindy Morgan pounding out a cool rendition of an African spiritual called "Workin' on a Building." It's from a book called "Old Songs Hymnal" by Dorothy G. Bolton. I'd never heard of this song before but apparently it's very old.

When I say the saw the name of the song on Cindy Morgan's YouTube Channel, I had to say I was curious. Workin' on a Building? What does that mean exactly? Is it a song or a discussion about building something? I had to find out.

As I watched the video, I finally understood . The lyrics say:

I'm workin' on building
A Holy Ghost building
I'm workin' on a building
for my Lord, for my Lord.

That conjured a complex set of visuals for me and reminded me of two different images. One was of a broken church somewhere with few followers. And as they sang this song, they built up their strength to get better and better.

It also reminded me of my Uncle and Aunt. They were missionaries in Africa for six years (three years in service, twice). What they did there was build churches. My Uncle Mike is a carpenter, my Aunt Tracy a nurse. they seemed the perfect pair for this mission.

But "working on a building" in Africa isn't like working on a building in MidAmerica USA. There aren't any Home Depots or Lowes. The bricks had to be made out of mud and clay. And not just a couple of bricks, many, many bricks. It takes a long time to make enough bricks to even start constructing a church in Africa. Somehow my uncle did it.

It didn't have many bells and whistles, but I'm sure the people there were overjoyed to have it.

So be thankful today that you have a holy ghost building to worship within. It may not be as perfect as you'd like it. The shape may not be right. It may have too many levels for the elderly in your congregation or may not be fancy enough. But it's one hundred times better, I'm sure, than the church my uncle made for those people in Africa. And I'll bet those people in Africa are one-hundred percent more grateful for that church than we are for ours.

So, the next time you walk into your church, praise God that you have a great place to worship, no matter it's shape and size. God doesn't care where you worship, just that you do.

Check out the YouTube Video "Working on a Building" by clicking this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdLzQ7Pg8j4&feature=g-user-u