A Firm Foundation
Upgrades are nice, but remodeling out of necessity isn't much fun. While cleaning the front bathroom one day, I noticed that the floor felt soft in front of the counter. Rusty and I searched high and low for a leak, but none could be found. Eventually we took the flooring and counter out to discover the damage was much more than just a small soft spot as it had apparently been going on for a long while. The water heater had been leaking and running under the counter. The damage couldn't be seen until it spread past that area. (For a similar story, see Water Damage 101 from Feb. 26th)
We knew we would need to patch the subfloor and install new floor covering. However, before it was over with, we were having to repair floor joists as well. Since it's just the two of us at home now and we had another functioning bathroom, we took the opportunity to make several changes while we were at it, and we could do it at our own pace. This included: walling up a closet, installing a different cabinet with new countertop and vessel sink, and giving the walls a shiplap look before repainting, as well as installing the new floor covering. It was a job that I was happy to see coming to end, but also happy to have the ability to do ourselves as it was a lot less costly that way.
The first step in the repair process was uncovering the damage. As it is with anything in life, you have to know what the problem is before you go about correcting it. Next came finding the cause of the problem and making sure it was tended to so that we wouldn't later end up in the same situation. Then the repairs had to be made to the floor joists before we could go any further. Our foundation had been compromised and without reinforcing it, no surface repairs would last.
Our Christian walk is much the same way. There may be times when we need to peel back the layers of our heart, rid ourselves of anything unsightly or useless, and correct anything that would cause harm to ourselves or others. Most importantly, we need to make sure that we are living the example Christ set for us, with strong faith and a solid foundation that will not fail.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on 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. -Matthew 7:24-25
Special prayers go out to those impacted by Hurricane Helene. As some lost their homes to the devastating flood waters, let us remember that our dwellings here are temporary. Let us be willing to help in times of need and use this as an opportunity to share the love of Christ and the message of His unfailing foundation.
Cody Carnes - Firm Foundation
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