Before You Feel Ready I 100426

I walk into empty commercial spaces with a laser measure and a picture in my head.

Racks against one wall. Turf lanes through the middle. A place to recover. People training together where I am standing alone.

Then I take the measurements. Ceiling height, rig footprint, lane width, room dimensions. The picture has to meet the space in front of me.

One building early in the search seemed to check nearly every box. It was on Route 9, newly renovated, visible, with parking, high ceilings, and a price that worked. We would have shared the building and entrance with a cannabis dispensary.

That was not a judgment about somebody else's legal business. It was a decision about where my wife and I wanted to open Temple Built, where our family and members would enter, and what the first home of this mission would be. We prayed about it and passed.

The decision was harder than I expected. When you have been searching for a long time, you can hear yourself trying to negotiate with a concern you already know matters. I wanted the search to end. That did not make the address right.

Another building is at the top of my list now. It has the square footage, ceilings, windows, parking, and location I want. It also needs demolition and a full buildout. The owners are still deciding how much space they will retain and how much they will lease. Without that boundary, I cannot get the architectural drawings and reliable contractor bids I need.

So I keep working on what I can control: programming, equipment planning, and the path a new person will follow when they arrive. I also keep taking measurements and asking questions. I cannot responsibly commit my family and future members to a room based only on what I can imagine inside it.

Training has taught me that the lift starts before the bar moves. You set your feet, find your grip, breathe, and brace. A lot can go wrong in the setup. The walkthroughs are part of the setup for this business. They rarely look like progress from the outside, but they shape what the room will be able to carry.

The waiting is hard. I am ready to coach people. Some have already told me why they are looking for a place like this. I can imagine them arriving for the first session. I still cannot give them an address.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the LORD!” I used to hear courage mostly as a call to move. In that verse, courage belongs to waiting too. I have prayed on concrete floors in buildings that are not mine, asking to know whether a place is right and for the honesty to accept it if it is not.

I may have to move before I feel ready. But I still have to know what I am agreeing to carry. That is the difference I am learning to recognize: a brave decision made with open eyes, and a rushed one made because I am tired of uncertainty.

I am still looking for the room. When I find one that can carry what we are building, I want to be ready to serve the people who walk through its doors.

The work continues.