Over the past few days I have spent most of my time ripping off shingles, repairing holes and putting a new roof on my grandfather’s house. In a very literal sense it’s an obvious reminder to be thankful for the roof we sleep under and perhaps the holes remind us not to take that roof for granted. In another sense though it is also a reminder of the ways we protect ourselves. We all manage to cover ourselves in one way or another as we face what life throws at us. We build walls of self esteem, we insulate ourselves with whatever successes we have, we cover ourselves with confidence and we are supported by things like our friends and families. Like that old roof however, sometimes after years of holding up to everything that comes at us a few things manage to get to us. It may start small and if we notice soon enough we can fix the leak without much damage, but if we don’t the leak gets bigger and it spreads to other parts of ourselves. Eventually it can even weaken us to the point where the next harsh word, the next disappointment, the next loss we face will cave right in on us. When that happens it becomes much harder to repair and we need help because otherwise it just keeps getting worse. Occasionally we try to cover things over with a new roof hoping that if will just cover over whatever has been eating away at us, and sometimes that even works. Most of the time though it doesn’t because the damage is still there and unless we find a way to repair it, the weakness is there too and our shelter won’t last.