The Carpenter Who Couldn't Finish the Porch

In 1987, a carpenter named Earl Watkins spent his Saturdays rebuilding the rotting front porch of Calvary Baptist Church in rural Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He measured every board twice, sanded every rail smooth, and told his wife he wanted to give God "something built right." But that November, Earl suffered a stroke that left his right hand too weak to grip a hammer. The porch sat half-finished through winter.

What Earl didn't know was that God had no interest in his porch.

Earl's twelve-year-old son Marcus had spent those Saturdays watching his father work — absorbing his patience, his care, his quiet faithfulness. Marcus grew up to pastor three churches across Alabama, mentoring over two hundred young men into ministry. His daughter became a seminary professor. His grandson planted churches in Haiti.

Earl wanted to build God a house. God wanted to build Earl's.

That is precisely what happens in 2 Samuel 7. David looks at his cedar palace, then at God's tent, and says, "Let me build You something worthy." But the Almighty flips the blueprint entirely: "I will establish your house. Your throne will endure forever."

God does not need our construction projects. He is already building something through us — a legacy of faithfulness that stretches further than our hands can reach, longer than our years can measure. The house God builds is always greater than the one we planned.