Our Rock

     "Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matt.7:24-27)

     A little over two weeks ago,  I answered the phone and listened to the words of a sweet friend telling me that our daughters had been in a very serious car wreck.  Little did we know at that moment how truly serious, how deadly serious, it was.  "And the rain fell, and the floods came..."  At that moment, all our priorities and concerns shifted and refocused forever.
     No longer important: my child's grade on a big test; the state of my child's room; the number of accolades my child accumulated; my child's performance on the golf course or cross country course.  Important: my child knowing and loving the God of the universe; my child knowing that we love her/him unconditionally--no if's, and's, or but's, even if they mess up in big or little ways; my child's character being rooted in Christ and Christ's love; my child's eternal salvation.
    No longer important: bank accounts; weedy yards; extra pounds; fashionable clothes; other people's approval or high opinions; exciting trips to distant locales; being "right" or winning an argument; free time all to myself; a lovely, clutter-free home; keeping up with the latest gadgets and technology; keeping up, period.  Important: loving extravagantly the Savior who died for me; loving the people He has placed in my life; caring for others;  praying for others; giving myself away in loving service to the God who gave His all for me... and to His beloved children;  living each day--each gift of today--joyfully in His amazing grace... and trusting Him for all our tomorrows.
    Just this morning, I was talking with our blond-headed Lazarus.  Janie suddenly grows tearful, "I'm gonna miss all of cross-country season."  When I remind her that it's at least possible she may get out there to see a meet by the end of the season, she sadly says, "Yeah, maybe, but I'll never run in another meet for Broughton."
     And she is right.  With all her injuries to brain and lung and ankle, she won't be doing any running anytime soon... maybe ever.  But that is up to her sovereign Savior who loves her infinitely more that we do.  And whose love means that sometimes He allows the rains to fall and the floods to come, just to show us and a watching world that any house built upon His Rock will never fall and never fail.  To remind us that His love and grace and joy and peace are more than enough, are always a giant trade-up in this short, ephemeral life.  To school us in the profound and wonderful difference between life and the abundant life.  And to teach us that we are not home yet, for the best is yet to come.
     She is running an entirely different kind of race now.  A race that matters for eternity and that, by the grace of God, is leading others to witness the eternal beauty of a house standing strong in the gales and floods of life.
      We are running that race, too, and our lives will, thankfully, gloriously, never be the same.  We have learned the true meaning of faith in the unseen,  hope in the midst of despair, and trust in the eternal rather than the temporary.  We run, building our houses of hope upon Him who never fails, even in the fiercest of storms.
       All that other stuff--that "no longer important stuff"--it's not that it doesn't matter at all.  Some of it does.  And God cares about all that too, for He cares about the big and the small, the monumental and the mundane in His children's lives.  But in life's hurricanes, all that stuff becomes like dandelion fluff blown away by the wind and the rain.  Our accolades and accomplishments and accumulations and acceptances will never ever sustain or strengthen us or give us lasting joy and peace in the midst of the floods.
     Only the Rock can do that.  Only our Rock and our Fortress can give the abundant Life in the midst of sun and storm.  "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (Ps.18:2)
     He is the Rock who will never fail.  He is our Hope.  And just in case we need a little reminding, here's a living, breathing picture of His never-failing faithfulness.  Of His Hope:

     Thumbs up toward heaven, toward Hope, toward the Rock.
     To God, our Rock of strength and joy and hope in every storm, be all the glory.