Foundations

How Firm is Your Foundation?

No, I’m not really talking about building although I could.  This summer, with the continuing drought, our house is sporting a few new cracks in the walls due to the foundation settling.  I remember when our house was built—22 years ago.  The basement was dug and then solid concrete walls were poured with steel I beams installed to carry the weight of the top floor across the foundation.  A sturdy, solid start to our home.

The beginning “groundwork” of any project is that of laying a foundation, a base upon which to build.  As the old proverb says, “Well begun is half done.”

Our lives are also built upon a “foundation” of beliefs and experiences that form our characters, decisions and actions.

One of my favorite Sunday school songs is about the wise man who built his house upon the rock, and the foolish man who was in a hurry and built his house upon the sand.  You know what happened when it rained…the house on the sand collapsed because its foundation on the sand was swept away.  Splat!!  I love to demonstrate this with a birdhouse and sand for my AWANA kids.  Then we talk about how foolish we are to build our houses, or lives on things that will go “Splat”…like money, fame, health, things, and even people.  All can be taken away and we can be swept away with them if they were our foundation!

I’ve certainly had times when my “foundation” has been shaken—in an earthquake of tragedies occurring that leave me unbelieving and doubting God’s plan.  These times of questioning make me spiritually dry and cracks develop in my faith foundation.  These cracks in my foundation become wide enough to let doubts of God’s goodness and love creep in.

 That’s when my faith needs “shoring up”, to be made true and strong again, just like repairs to a foundation.  To fix a foundation, jacks are brought in to lift weight of the structure off so repairs can be made. Aren’t there times when we desperately need Jesus to lift the weight of our cares off us so we can be repaired or made strong again?

He knows this, after all.  In the Bible, He tells us to cast all our cares on Him, and to come to Him when we’re weak and heavy laden and He will give us rest.

We need to fill the cracks in our foundation and strengthen it by remembering who God is and His promises to us.  He has a plan that is good for us and He promises never to leave us, even when our world is shaken. 

 

My world recently has been shaken in a good way as I have a new granddaughter!!! Her name is Harper, born August 3,  and she is adorable.  I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the “foundation” I would wish for her life to be built upon.

I want her to have a rock solid faith that will help her to be steadfast and to trust in Jesus no matter what happens to “shake” her foundation.  I want her to know that Jesus loves her and delights in her, just as He does all his “girls” and boys!  (That’s all of us!)

I pray her mommy and daddy will help her learn to want to please Him more than to please other people. And even though we’ll tell her how special she is, I want her to know that everyone else is special to God, too…that we need to see to the needs of others.

 I want her to have a solid physical foundation that goes beyond having her needs for food and shelter met.  I’m hoping she learns what it is to be sweaty and dirty and to work hard.  That she’ll experience the joy of serving others.  I pray she will be strong of body and of spirit.

As a teacher, I want her to have a love of learning.  This would be her foundation for a life time of exploring God’s word and His world!

It’s hard work, building a house or a life on a firm foundation.   You can’t take short cuts or build in haste, like the foolish man who built on the sand.  Spending time in God’s word is the only way to build a life that will “stand firm”, that won’t be swept away by the tides of troubles in this world.  I pray we will all tend to our “foundations” so that we can be steadfast and stand fast ( be unshaken)!   

P.S.  If you miss the Olympics, go to www.flylady.com, and scroll down to the square that says Olympic Challenges.  There are decluttering and cleaning “events” for each day that will start you on fall house cleaning and “lay a solid foundation” for extending hospitality and the holidays coming soon!