Foundations

A lot of people like the ocean. Some people like building right on the ocean.

Hurricanes like ocean too.

Unfortunately for ocean liking building people, Hurricanes seems to hate them.

Hurricane season begins in June. What is a nice ocean loving building person to do?

Behold...

I spent my "early formative years" in a strange land called "The California." It has since become known as "K-A-L-E-E-F-O-R-N-E-E-A." 

This land is familiar with only one enemy, scratch that, two. The first is evil, diseased fruit flowing over it's borders, and the second is earthquakes.

Earthquakes are freaking scary. I've been through a few, and I don't have great balance in the first place. Now you expect me to keep standing while the whole world is shaking? I'm going to go hold onto a tree. Assuming of course that it is not an apple or a palm tree.

Don't stand under a palm tree in the middle of an earthquake. It can give you a headache. 

Hey, I'm a poet and didn't even know it!

In Kaleeforneea I grew up in an area that had a lot of new building. This provided a veritable treasure trove of adventures for a little boy. Leaping between 15 foot high stacks of plywood, hide and seek in the midst of complete blocks of unfinished homes, peeing through sky lights just because we were ten. It was good times.


When I moved to Oregon, my family had a house built. Big difference in building. In Bend you find thicker walls because it is cold, in California you will find complete concrete slab foundations because it is much more structurally sound.

In my own life and the lives of others, the importance of foundations seems to be paramount. Consider the words of Jesus found in Luke 6.

"Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,' and 'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. 

"If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss." (The Message)

Hard times reveal the status of our foundations. We can fool ourselves with false comforts for a time, but eventually the truth comes out.

Jesus says that if you work his words into your life you will have a strong foundation. A foundation that can withstand hurricanes. There is one thing about hurricane resistant foundations and homes though. Think back to the ones in the video.

They look different, and they don't ever sacrifice function for form. 

Imagine a hurricane resistant house in your neighborhood.

Notice that Jesus says that his words must be "worked," or as other versions say "built" into our lives. This takes discipline and effort. He is always a gentleman and will never force his will or his words upon us.

I don't know about you, but I would take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand.

Please do not misunderstand.

I am not saying I have it all figured out.

but, I have made my foundation in Christ and it is firm. 

I have been shaken, and have come as close as possible, but I have never been absolutely swept away.

I am increasingly familiar with the waves of this world, and I find that as the tides come and go they take more and more of the pieces of me that get in the way of God.

I have mentioned this in past posts, but one of the fruits of maturity that I am enjoying the most is the ability to submit to hard times and patiently let the Lord use it as he wills.

Speaking of "a shack on a rock" I think it describes my life quite perfectly.

How would you describe yours?