A Firm Foundation for Life's Coming Storms

The other day we had our student ministry summer kick-off at a local park. A mom sent her sixth grader off to join a game, and she made small talk with me while the kids played. “So, what did your family think of you moving here all the way across the country from Florida?!,” she asked. “Well, I guess you might be glad to have moved away from those terrifying hurricanes!”

I had to chuckle because, having lived in the mid-west for nearly five years now, I would still rather deal with hurricanes than the unpredictable nature of the weather here! Two nights, ago me and my poor little Yorkie woke to tornado sirens at 1:30 am. I ushered her to the bathroom, our usual safety spot and she just stared at me trying to figure out why we were huddled together there in the middle of the night.

In Florida, we know days in advance if a storm is potentially heading in our direction. We have time to plan to head to the friend or family member who has the safest house. We have time to put up shutters and prepare the coolers to hold perishable items when the power inevitably goes out.

On my 18th birthday, Hurricane Wilma hit the South Florida area where we lived. I remember waking in the middle of the night to my parents sitting in the living room with candles lit so all of us kids could find them in the dark, with shuttered windows and no electricity. As the storm raged, we could hear the house creak and groan from the wind, rain, and pressure outside. My mom would remind us to be grateful we had a home that was built to withstand strong storms, because not everyone had that safety. When it was all over, many of the roads were blocked by debris. We had a massive tree down in our pool and neighbors had to come help us break it down and remove it. School was out for two weeks and so was the power, so we had a lot of cold showers and some inventive meals cooked on my dad’s Weber grill. Pancakes were my favorite! Thankfully, in all of that, our house remained largely unharmed.

I lived in Florida long enough to learn that some houses could withstand some storms while others simply could not. They try to build them with an infrastructure that will last. Every hurricane season I would think about the parable Jesus told… that houses built on solid rock—firm foundations—could withstand a storm. It was a constant reminder that as a person of faith, I need to build my faith on the foundation of Jesus. In my spiritual life, much like my life in Florida, we have time to plan and prepare for the storms of life. We may not always know exactly how strong they’ll be or exactly where they’ll hit, but we know that storms are a part of life. With Jesus as my foundation, the storms of life cannot render me hopeless. As the hymnist wrote, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Whatever storms come your way, whether physical, spiritual, emotional, or mental, remember that through Jesus, you can build your hope on solid rock to withstand the storm.