Support Structures

Even the firmest of foundations is insufficient to build a complete life. Throughout my life I have seen that the "supporting cast" of people around us forms a sort of support structure for our lives. Not all of those structures necessarily provide strength. But those that do give strength are essential in the building of a life of strength … one which has direction, purpose and mission.

For a while I'm going to share some personal vignettes which look at the way people provide support structures for our lives. I'm not sure how many I may be inspired to write about, but I do believe that one of the most important issues of "building with living stones" is to recognize how the people around us provide the support structures which, in turn, give strength to our lives. The following "building maxim" is one way to look at the strength which other lives give to ours: "Strength always provides more strength to the components around it." Here's the first "support structure" story.

Family is the place where many of us gain our first support structures. As I mentioned earlier, parents can be a part of a strong foundation, but there are other "support structures" in and around families which build lives. From my earliest recollections, family and faith were inextricably tied together. Grandparents can have an integral role in the support structure of lives. One person who, although physically frail and weak, gave support structure for my life was my maternal grandmother, Martha Onsrud. Her life of faith, love and devotion to her God and her family left an indelible imprint on me as a young person. Her faith had remained strong throughout her life, even through the premature death of her teenage son and later her husband, my grandfather. As a teenager myself, I watched her suffer and eventually die from the debilitating disease of rheumatoid arthritis. Even before she passed from this earthly life in 1973, she had shown me that we could have strength to face incredible challenges, both physical as well as emotional, as life brings them our way. In addition, she gave me a strong picture of the potential for “new life” that was available to those who loved God with all their heart. I truly saw that “new life” in her and it gave me strength that continues today. Thanks, Martha Onsrud, for your life. It's still providing strong support for other lives.

Dig Deep If You're Gonna Build High!

A strong foundation is an essential part of any building. I have worked on many buildings with weak foundations which in the end cannot support the building and it crumbles. To effectively build lives that are strong begins with building strong foundations. One component of building a strong foundation is the family.

Building has been a part of my family's life for as long as I can remember. From my earliest recollections, our family was always together. We often looked out for one another and cared for one another. We enjoyed one another's company and spent many hours playing and working together. My two brothers and I worked together with Mom and Dad as a family in building since we were old enough to swing a hammer or lift a trowel. Each of us has a love for construction and woodworking that continues today.

As young boys growing up in the 1960’s, there were ample opportunities to explore life together as brothers and "build" with a host of neighborhood friends. Organizations like Little League, Boy Scouts and church groups provided some additional “bricks” for the foundation which God had established through my family’s heritage. Certainly there were the occasional questionable "building projects" and of course, “sibling rivalries” . . . which, when we got out of hand, we were duly recompensed with appropriate discipline. But, even so, we knew a healthy and loving relationship with our parents throughout our childhood that provided the strong foundation upon which to build our lives.

My parents are truly two of the most important people in my life’s journey, and continue to this day to be great friends who are always available with a listening ear and/or counsel. They are great encouragers to me and my family, as well as many others. Thanks Mom and Dad for helping to build a strong foundation!

Start Building

I am fascinated by the building process. Since I was very young, the process of taking a pile of raw materials and putting them together to create something useful, beautiful, attractive and beneficial to others has been a passion.

It has been my joy and privilege to be involved in the building of structures and facilities for over 40 years! This passion has opened doors for me and taken me to places which I could have only dreamed of as a boy.

Interestingly, as I have grown older, I have experienced the same wonder in the building process as lives are "built." Over and over again I have seen that each person is, at the start, a "pile of raw materials" which can be "put together" to form something useful, beautiful, attractive and beneficial to others. Then when individual lives are built, they help build and strengthen the lives of those around them resulting in an even more attractive and useful "building" ... made up of people, who are being built together for a greater purpose.

My hope is that those who read this blog will benefit from these musings and see their lives "being built" inwardly, and then building with others in an outward manner, for the benefit of others.