The woman watched helplessly as the house slid from the cliff into the sea.
The entire home was lost, nothing left but splinters and debris.
The mansion had once been a glorious structure with magnificent views.
Now it was a pile of rubble – its grandeur was yesterdays news.
There had been no signs of danger when the manor was built -
no evidence that the waves would destroy it and eventually turn it into silt.
Over the years, the winds and rising water gradually eroded the majestic bluff.
Warnings signs were ignored, procrastination always seemed good enough.
Too much sand and not enough rock was the verdict nature proclaimed.
The house was not built wisely upon a foundation that the ocean could not claim.
She thought about her life and compared it to the abode and its hilltop stand.
Had her spiritual foundation also crumbled because it was built upon the sand ?
Her decline started with cracks that were not repaired nor reinforced,
worldly influences wearing away her resolve and commitment to the Lord.
The main fissure was that she could not believe what she could not see
and was blinded by the influences of the world and careless complacency.
She had sought for wealth and what money could buy,
always wanting more and everything that caught her eye.
The pleasures of the world were too much of a temptation.
Was she now just beginning to see clearly or was it all an illusion ?
Others could see the erosion of faith that weakened her foundation.
But what logic could penetrate a heart hardened by this insidious corrosion ?
Friends and family saw the destruction that was coming.
But their warnings fell on deaf ears and the other siren that was constantly calling.
She had looked beyond the mark and had come up short.
But now she was “coming to herself” and the reality was stark.
It turns out she was not past feeling, there was still a glimmer of light in her soul.
The spirit was working on her, always looking for ways to help her know the way to go.
The teachings of Jesus now came more distinctly to her mind -
the prodigal son, the lost sheep, the Savior’s desire to leave no one behind.
She realized then that she could be rescued by the Good Shepherd and
return to the fold.
Thankfully there was still time to build again, this time with a foundation
more secure and solid.
Even though many seasons in her life had passed,
the love of the Lamb of God reassured her that it was never too late,
that His grace and mercy were sufficient to cover her past mistakes.
December 2022
Matthew 7: 24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Helaman 5: 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
Psalm 18: 1-3 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
Allan F. Packer, “Finding Strength in Challenging Times”, April 2009
“When the winds blow and the rains pour, they blow and pour on all. Those who have built their foundations on bedrock rather than sand survive the storms. There is a way to build on bedrock by developing a deep personal conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and knowing how to receive inspiration. We must know—and know that we know. We must stand spiritually and temporally independent of all worldly
creatures.
This begins by understanding that God the Father is the Father of our spirits and that He loves us, that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Savior, and that the Holy Ghost can communicate with our minds and our hearts. This is how we receive inspiration. We need to learn how to recognize and apply these promptings.”
Rafael E. Pino, “Faith in Adversity”, April 2009
President Howard W. Hunter said: “If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right” (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1997], 40).
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