FOUNDATIONS over Feelings

“The wise man built his house upon a rock…and the house on the rock stood firm."

 (click here for all the words to this song.)

These lines, from a song we taught children, which refer to a Bible parable warning not to build a house on shifting sand, make it seem so easy to do something well. All you have to do is find the solid rock.  Of course, the message is that Jesus is the rock.  So we already have the base for our foundation.  But, the foundation must still be built upon it. For anything the Lord will have us do, He doesn’t throw us in headlong without provision for us to go through a learning process first, in order to have a good foundation. He never promised it would be a good experience.

In my blog, for Christy Eggert’s site, “My Wings Are Made of Faith,” I told of how I was at that infamous turning point when we are obliged to look to new beginnings. There is a strong parallel between the learning process of being thrown into my Mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, and my needing to prepare myself for a dramatic life change. But they stood in striking contrast one to the other, in my response to them.

1. Both were thrown at me at once. I felt Overwhelmed, and I constantly wanted to choose only one, not both. Both were new experiences about which I knew little and had to learn a lot quickly.  Did God Care? ...Yes!
2.  Mother’s illness affected me emotionally in the strongest way.  I was absurdly inclined to respond by reaction out of those strong emotions.  My mind just wanted to shut down and avoid this at all costs or scream. And scream I did sometimes!    While the issue with finding a life-craft was Discouraging, I wanted to dive in and accomplish something monumental, right away.  My mind soared with ideas, which I couldn’t get off the ground. Still it was Exciting. My emotional state, while dealing with Mother, fell on and affected everyone in my family and myself. Since I stayed at level 9 on a scale of 1 – 10, I hit 10 at every turn. It was noticed and feared.   However, my excitement about finally building something new in my own life, fell on unreceptive ears. NO one was hearing my cry, “I must be something else, or die.” I felt Alone. No one saw it as the good balance in my life of turmoil. Was God there? …Yes.
3. Taking care of Mother required patience, but knowing how to take care of her affairs was something I needed to know yesterday. No time for patience there. Every day I was faced with one more person who felt there was something I should have already taken care of. I didn’t even know what they were talking about. Learning it immediately was imperative. I had felt like I had No Choice  in the matter.   But, learning about a new life’s work was strictly my choice, in response to what I felt God wanted me to do; and I had little support from anyone. Everyone around me believed I didn’t need to change from doing what I already knew extremely well how to do. They wanted me to put this thing that was so all-important to me off, ‘til maybe -- never.   In everyone else’s mind it had to make money; in mine, it had to please God.  Was God listening to my heart? …Yes.
4. One, I resisted but had to face.  One, I embraced and would have to go it alone.   What does God say to that?  …One Plus God Is A Majority! 

Is it true? …Yes!

Mother is gone now and I miss her, but if I had to do it again, I would still fear the process as much as doing it once.  There is no way to make that easy.  Especially the part of tearing her away from everything she loved.

      The other, I still embrace, in spite of the fear and discouragement, because God had me build a foundation for it. And there has to be a reason why. 

 I never expected there to be such a correlation between mother’s disease and my future. (Jeremiah 29: 11-13)

My friends, I am hoping your experiences today, are profitable for a future, and knowing that every emotional, patience testing, overwhelming part of our day is probably building a strong foundation for … well, for life! And a future.

He said he came to give us an abundant life.  It’s a promise worth focusing on, especially when building a new foundation.

Lord, whether bound in a battle with patience and doing the things I fear,

OR drawn to a pathway, awkwardly following something inside, that has You pulling me along, to places no one else seems to think I should go…. PLEASE, make your presence known.  Allow me to see YOU every step of the way. AMEN.

St John 10:10 KJV …I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.