2013 Annual Report
It’s not about me, it’s about us.
Every morning, we wake up hopeful. We are trusting GOD to provide. We are believing HE will have a customer call or a customer will refer a friend. We are waiting and we are dependent.
We cannot manufacture work. We are not marketing gurus. We are just a bunch of nobody’s trusting in a SOMEBODY. Sometimes we believe we can do something, but we can’t. We are dependent. We are waiting for the yes, the signed contract, the down payment.
We live a life of waiting. We work diligently in our waiting. We listen. We write estimates. We build relationships. We care. We pray. We hope and we give.
And the phone rings, the text beeps and the email dings at just the right time. We worship because again we are reminded HE is faithful.
We are called to be a light in a common man industry. We are the common man. We are service work. We must stoop low. And when we don’t we confess our flaws. We are on this pursuit to lead like JESUS. HE was a humble servant and that’s what we strive to be.
What if HE used us, painting your house, installing your deck, remodeling your kitchen, replacing your roof, finishing your basement, to encourage you, to make you laugh, to remind you of your value, to love you? Is that crazy? That’s the goal. We want you to taste the love of JESUS because we showed up. We long to serve you and care for you and minister to you. Somehow, someway, while we are swinging a hammer and stroking a paint brush, you feel the presence of JESUS.
Remember, it’s not about me, it’s about us.
The work you, 410 of you, (70 Repeat customers) gave us this year provided for 29 staff, 18 spouses, and 41 kids. and that work overflowed into business for 431 vendors. From that provision, we are learning to give, not just to you, but to one another, to our families, to our communities, to the world. We are finding the value of time over money, relationships over possessions and joy over happiness. We are learning to get out of the way. Giving is best learned in need, not abundance. We are looking for ways to be givers and not takers. We can’t just wait until giving costs nothing.
A past staff member drove from New Mexico to Birmingham to come see us, to apologize, to express thanks, to share his news of two years sobriety. We had lost track of him over the years and received the gift of sharing a meal and having him in our home for the night to celebrate how beauty blooms from ashes. Something about the value of relationships make the hard days sweet.
Staff members served in Namibia and Belize, repaired some homes for struggling families locally and delivered disaster relief supplies to Oklahoma.
We were blessed with some fun surprises too. Four guys went on a deep sea fishing trip from a local vendor, we won the Alabama Remodeling Excellence Award, we were added as a provider for Crawford Connections, we became an authorized contractor for Welborn Cabinets and our African friend Cornelius led us in a team building day.
A staff member turned 50 and celebrated by biking 50 miles for his 50th. Several staff members meet up after work hours for biking, soccer, camping, worship and kid activities. Watching a staff member baptize his friends who recently came to know JESUS and crashing a youth event another staff member was leading made our hearts overflow. We had a GKC team in the Glow in the Park 5k and had a float in several community parades.
In the end, it won’t matter how much money we had, but how we used it. Love matters. Helping a staff member keep custody of his kid matters. Listening to the hurts of a customer matters. Paying vendors timely matters. People and relationships matter. We need enough. We need to pay our bills and pay our staff and give to needs around us. We need to make a lasting impact in the world.
How do we leave a legacy? We learn to consider others above ourselves. We find ourselves hidden in CHRIST so that we no longer live but CHRIST lives in us. We let “me” and “i” die. We fight selfishness. We give our lives away.
Who knew this life would be so hard. We have so far to go. How does one exist only for GOD‘s glory? We don’t have it all figured out and make a lot of mistakes, but that’s our heart friends and if you taste and see and experience a little of JESUS because we worked for you, than our goals are being accomplished and our dreams are slowly being realized.
In the end, what will matter is how we treated you, how we challenged you, how we encouraged you. Did we share a smile? Did we use our manners? Did you feel respected?
We need more work to continue serving the community in 2014. Please help us by referring work or using us again yourselves. We thank you for trusting us and motivating us to keep on. We get so tired and weary, but you say a kind word, or send a thank you note, or call to report excellence and it is just what we need to press on.
We had more randomness this year. A company truck caught on fire, the UAB Business Master’s Program researched us for their final project, we helped with several school career days, dropped a tile countertop that required stitches in one staff’s wrist, and we participated in the Moss Rock Festival.
Our office remains full of donations, coming in and out, as we share space with the non-profit Grace Klein Community. If you have been by our office, we acknowledge the mess. But, the mess is worth it so we keep going knowing needs are being met around our city because you shared your appliances or clothing or food. When the stacks get on our nerves, we have to remember the cold are being clothed, the forgotten are being remembered, the hungry are being fed and the broken are being put back together.
A friend gave us a small piece of art that says, “you are not alone in the boat.” What a simple but powerful truth and we hope this letter will remind you that you are never alone in the boat either. The love of GOD may come from your construction foreman, or the man sweeping your floor, or the one nailing the shingles to your addition. Maybe it’s unexpected and not what you prayed for or ever hoped for, but it’s for you. It is your reminder. Your gift.
When you see a Grace Klein Construction truck or van on the road or in your neighborhood, pray for us. Pray for the families we are serving. Pray for our faith in the waiting. Pray we never give up. Pray people experience love because we showed up. Pray GOD keeps providing the next project. Pray people meet JESUS through construction.
Oh yea, check us out on Etsy HERE. We have started a store called bemorerandom where we recycle pallet wood into furniture, picture frames, etc. If you want anything special, let us know.
It’s about all of us.
Working with all our hearts,
Jason and Jenny Waltman
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