Foundations

This is the view outside our front window.

It looks like nothing, right? Just an empty lot.

However, a month ago, a house stood here.  A house that had been here for many years.

It was a strong, brick house that sat on an equally strong foundation.

The house that lived here caught fire a couple of months ago. We came up upon fire trucks on our way home one night. The house seemed to only need a roof repair, but obviously the fire damaged much more within the house than we could see from the outside. After the fire, it sat there with plastic covering the hole in the roof. It was quiet for some time, until a huge piece of machinery pulled up one freezing January morning. Lots of other large trucks would soon follow with, what looked like, giant dumpsters.

And, just like that, the house was demolished. It only took a couple of good hits with the crane of the machine and the house was crumbling down. I thought about how long it took to build that house … months, maybe longer. But, within thirty minutes, the house was gone, totally destroyed.

I sent my husband a text with that sentiment and said, “that’ll preach.”

And, it has been “preaching” to me every time I look out of that window.

It takes years to build up your faith, your life, everything you have. And, the longer you serve God, the stronger your faith should become. But, in a matter of minutes, it could all be destroyed. It could all be knocked down. Life is like that. It’s unpredictable. What will be around the next corner? What choices will I make when life does hit me hard? How will my choices affect the rest of my life and those around me?

The trucks left for the day and the only thing remaining was the foundation, that good, old concrete slab that holds it all together, and makes that home stand firm. Again, I thought, “that’ll preach.” After all that happened, the foundation stood. The foundation remained.

Except there was one tiny problem in my illustration.

You see, the next day, that same piece of machinery ripped up the foundation. I didn’t even know a foundation could be ripped up. I just assumed a new house would be built on top of the foundation that remained.

Well, that’s not the case. And, this blew my theory of how strong foundations can be.

I thought about everything I’d ever heard concerning firm foundations in regards to my faith. And, I came to this realization … sometimes the foundation is faulty. Sometimes the foundation has cracks in it. It’s damaged. It needs to be pulled up. The soil needs to be prepared again and the new foundation laid.

These past years almost destroyed me. Thank God for the truth that remained in my foundation, in my heart.  Thank God I knew Him. But, know this, no matter how long a person has served God, their “house” can be shaken, knocked down, burned to the ground, simply demolished. And, yes, even their foundation won’t stand up to what they’re facing.

Some of the things that were a part of my “foundation,” if you will, were faulty. There were some cracks. The cracks are actually what I’m working with God on rebuilding now. I will never assume I am strong enough to take on anything ever again, no matter how many years I’ve known God and how much Bible knowledge I have. Even after all these years, I’m still learning. I’m still growing. I’m still loving God as hard as I can. And, I know His hand is never too far for me to reach.