Lord, You know we are in the middle of a nor’easter–an odd nor’easter in that we have no rain, but high surf from offshore winds. States to the north are getting pounded with flooding, and watching at the pier today made me think of what You said about building on sand. Our whole island is built on sand!
Do you know what the difference is between building on sand and building on rock?
Yes, the houses built on sand fall in and the ones on rock stand. That is what the parable says. And the building on rock is shorthand for building on You, on Your Word. On what You say.
Step back a minute. A tsunami wave broadside would shatter even a house built on rock. The key is in the foundation. A nor’easter can pull a sand foundation out from under a house, no matter how well built the house itself is. Its sandy foundation is subject to erosion, whereas a rock foundation is more secure. That is the literal meaning of the parable. People assume the parable means that building your life on principles of faith mean that no tragedy, no hardship, will hit the house. But what it really means is that, no matter what waves come, the foundation–the relationship of a life lived in union with Me, based on My Love–is secure. So let Me ask you a hard question. When Pete was first diagnosed back in 2011, did you blame Me?
No, of course not! I mean, I didn’t believe then, and I don’t believe now, that You caused that.
And you are right. I did not. But was I present to you, to both of you, in and through that?
Yes, you were. That was hard. Losing Patrick, that was in some ways harder, certainly harder on Pete. But You, You were always there. And we had each other.
So the highest waves you two have faced together did not topple your love for one another or your certainty of My Love for you and My Presence with you. You are built on solid rock. You built your lives together on Love, My Love, and your love for each other. Your grief and fear were very real, and you will feel elements of both of those as long as you live together. So it can be said that your house shook, your emotions shook, when those waves came, but your foundation never eroded.
No, and in some odd ways, all of that just made our foundation stronger. I guess because we faced that together. Separately, in that those situations had different effects on each of us, but we still faced it all together. We walked through it separately, together. If that makes sense.
So here is what I want you to remember. There is no wave, no storm, no situation that will pull your foundation out from under you. Not from you, as an individual. Not from you two as a couple. Take that to heart. Really take that in. That will give you peace.