Have you ever noticed how rocks in a riverbed stay put? They don't move even though there are rushing waters, sometimes raging, over them. Sure, the pebbles might float away here and there, but for the most part the rocks stay in place.
The storms of life are much like the flowing waters and we are the rocks stuck in the mud, and will not be moved, no matter how slow or fast the waters may flow over us.
My family and I just endured a 90 day storm that we easily could have floated away like the pebbles and our family unit could have been easily destroyed. But, I'd like to think that building our home on the rock of Christ kept us "stuck in the mud." Clear as mud? :)
I was reading in Proverbs today and I usually do it corresponding to each day of the month and for some reason today, I felt compelled to move on from Proverbs 23 and go on to Proverbs 24:1-4 (NIV)
Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.
By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
I stumbled upon a quote today and I wish I could tell you who said it to give credit where it is due, but I cannot...but here it goes: A carpenter builds houses but parents build a home. That really struck me. It's true. We can have Easters for the past seven years in seven different homes (and we have!) and yet, as long as we are establishing our home on a foundation of Christ's wisdom, for lack of better words, we are good! I have been sitting back, amazed and in awe of how strong my family was during our time of crisis and how God used this summer to bring our famliy even closer together. In addition, thinking back to the past seven years of back and forth and making choices that may not have been the best and being just amazed at how we have grown as a family each together and as individuals. That is all by the grace of God. I can only imagine how much dissention there would be if we wouldn't be working together as a family to put God at the center of our home. That's not to say we haven't made our fair share of mistakes over the years and some of them are areas of our lives that we are just learning now, this summer, that changes need to be made in order to continue establishing our home where there is love, unity, fellowship and harmony. These changes are ones that are so crucial when it comes to modeling to our children a strong and healthy marriage.
I hope that between my husband and I, we can give our children the opportunity to be understood by us, that they be able to pour out their soul and share with us any griefs or troubles, a place they can be their true self and no need to pretend to be different because here there will be nothing but love and patience, understanding and grace. Here, I pray that with the wisdom of Christ, my husband and I can continue to establish our home on a firm foundation with the understanding that our home could and will be bombarded with fierce storms. God expects us to as parents to build a home, build it on a firm foundation (Christ!) and do so with such care and attention to detail so that no matter how fierce the storm, no matter how the waters are rushing over us like the rocks of a riverbed, our house will stand against the storm and not be destroyed.
I feel that we have been doing a pretty good job so far and of course there is always room for improvement on a daily basis. I agree with the sentiment that families who reflect God's covenant are families driven closer together in life's storms! And our little family of five couldn't be more proof in the pudding, or rocks in the riverbed. :)
