Under Construction

My mother always reminded me to look not at the person standing center stage, but the one standing beside him or her. It was a lesson she taught not only with words, but also with the way she lived her life. I was reminded of her advice (and example) this week when I traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit the Billy Graham home and library. I’ve always been interested in the man, but I have been equally fascinated by the woman who stood beside him for all those years. 

I must confess I have a complicated relationship with the Evangelical Church. Attracted to the passion found under its tents, I’m repelled by what seems like conditional grace. It is because of this feeling, which might be my stuff, that I approached the Graham library tentatively. 

It was heart-warming to walk through Billy’s childhood home, and inspirational to walk through the doors at the base of the glass cross in the barn wall, but my soul was filled not by the home, the library, the legacy, or the man. It was filled by the woman buried beside him.

Outside the library, off to the side, are Ruth and Billy’s graves, marked with wonderful natural stone. On his, there’s a cross above his name, as I expected, but over hers was a Chinese symbol. Surprised, I found out it was a symbol, or letter, she’d seen when living in China. It translates, “Under construction, thank you for your patience.” When she first saw it and learned what it meant, she said it was what she wanted on her grave stone.

I am not sure there’s a better message for Lent, or any other season, because no matter how hard we try to hide it, we are all under construction and can thank God for His infinite patience.