And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall….(Matthew 7:25)
Earlier this week Adah and I attended story time at the library. As you can imagine, story time with a bunch of little ones can tend to be fairly unpredictable. Sometimes kids are climbing on things, crying, walking aimlessly around the room, hugging other kids or throwing a small tantrum when the library worker is reading us a story.
On this particular day a woman came in with her four children. In my estimation ranging in ages 18 months to around 7 years of age. She had a busy crew who didn’t always sit still but she remained so patient. She never seemed annoyed. She didn’t allow herself to get caught up in the wind of her children’s disobedience. She simply spoke to them with a steady voice, laying out the consequences of their poor choices, but never allowing those choices to rock her.
I don’t normally see that from most parents. What I normally encounter is a frazzled, anxious, hurried mom who gets swept up in anger over her own child’s poor behavior. Thus, loosing her peace of mind and I’ve been that mom too.
I couldn’t help but think that this woman’s steadiness offers us a picture of what life can be like as we follow Jesus through the storms of life and the poor decisions of others. She never let the choices of her children rock her, but what about you and me? Do you get angry at those close to you when their decisions make you look bad, bring heartache into your life, press your buttons of fear or worry or just plain annoy you? I can’t say that I’ve always remained steady. I have certainly allowed my own issues with control and fear to direct me instead of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7 that when a wise person builds their house on the rock, the storms can come, the winds can blow, but the house will continue to stand. Friend, what about you? Is your faith so grounded in Jesus that no matter what life brings, no matter who hurts you, does you wrong or disappoints you, your faith remains unmovable and your life becomes unbothered?
The reality is if we have people close to us, and we all do, they will walk through their own storms, but friend, don”t let it become your storm too. God really is in control and when my fears start to press in I remind myself that human beings are not in control, but God is in control. Therefore, I can remain calm and steady when those around me are living in chaos. I can live at peace knowing that through wisdom and faith, if my house is built upon the rock, Jesus will always make a way for me.
Lord, I trust you. When storms come, you are my steady place. Be that for me each moment. I pray I don’t get caught up in the chaotic storms that those around me find themselves in and that I don’t let their sinking ship be the one I find myself on, in Jesus name, Amen.
Heather Quiroz 