Why You Need to Deconstruct Something

(And how you probably already are)

If you can’t point to a time in your life where you’ve had to deconstruct something, let me assure you: it’s coming. More, let me invite you reconsider this word in a way that maybe you wouldn’t have used before.

On John’s final day of work as a youth pastor in the summer of 2013, he drove his car home from the church one last time, his trunk filled with boxes. When he arrived home and started to unpack, he noticed that his framed M.Div. diploma was no longer stacked neatly as he had placed it but had been jostled on the ride, landing on the floor of the trunk. Rather than staying centered its frame, the paper diploma had come loose and was crooked beneath the matte.

He stood in our driveway on that milestone day, staring down at his cockeyed diploma, wondering if he had made a huge mistake.