stephen R Harrison

As I repaired my squeaky steps today, it made me think about steps of recovery and healing from the Lord.

I knew something wasn’t right…everyone in my house did. Those two bottom steps squeaked every time we stepped on them since the day we moved in. Over time, it only got worse. I tried a couple of screws once, but it wasn’t a real attempt at a solution. So, we lived with the squeak. We’d avoid them when others were asleep so as not to disturb. We usually stepped over or around them. Everyone around us knew when we were going up or down, so we couldn’t hide it. The squeak, however, went from a major problem to annoyance and avoidance; then it became a way of life. We all knew something was wrong, but we learned to live with it, even ignore it, wrongly thinking, “that’s just how it would always be”.

That’s not what those steps were made for. They had a purpose. They were meant to serve others. So, today, I opened them up. I was tired of the squeak telling me where, when, and how to step. I wasn’t sure how long it would take. It was messy. At one point, I almost covered everything back up. I grabbed some tools, got some more tools, took off the carpet, pried up the first step, and revealed the underlying problem. Interestingly, I didn’t uncover a squeak, but a broken stringer. The squeak was just a reminder that something bigger was wrong. Avoiding the squeak didn’t make the brokenness disappear. In the middle of the mess, Tate came down the stairs and said, “Why?” Haley said, “Good luck with that.” Tate and I worked on it together. It took some time, effort, glue, new wood, screws, and maybe even a YouTube video, but it worked. The squeak disappeared because I addressed the brokenness. Now restored, the stairs were not only squeak-free but also able to serve once again as the builder intended. 

Like two little kids, Tate and I ran up and down them. Tate came down the stairs with a smile and said, “Now I don’t have to jump over them or hug the wall anymore. We should have done this a long time ago”. It’s amazing what we learn to live with. We’ll probably remember the squeak at times, and even what it took to repair it. However, next time I have a squeaky step or hear someone else with one, I can confidently say, “That’s fixable.”

What a reminder of how God can heal our deepest hurts, habits, and hang-ups. May we get tired of living a “squeak-altered life” and let God uncover and heal our brokenness. 

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” -Jesus, Luke 4:18-19