Back in the day, my inlaws had a great place in the Ocala, Florida area. The entire family loved it there, right on a canal for boating and fishing, plus it was not too far from Disney World. There was great shopping and restaurants nearby, not to mention The Mighty Ocean.

But the best part?

It was FREE.

One summer, my mother, grandmother, younger brother and the only one of My Three Sons to grace the planet at the time, Kyle, decided to take advantage of the free vacation spot. The Sweetheart couldn’t get off work (or could he???) but graciously said we could go without him. Hmmm…little did I know that we would look back later and wonder who really had a vacation.

Heading  south, we made pretty good time considering our diverse party. It was a great week, the weather was fantastic and we just relaxed.

The decision was made to spend one full day at the ocean. So, this group of Indiana rednecks piled in the car and in no time we were claiming our spot on the beach. Kyle had a great time building sand castles and the rest of us enjoyed the sunshine.

Until the tide came in.

Being the newcomers we had no clue about tides and oceans or the rules of the beach. We had pulled our car up to our spot just like everyone else had done. This was the 80’s; obviously things have changed!

What we didn’t notice was that the other sun worshippers had MOVED their vehicles an hour or two earlier in anticipation of the changing tide. But the Hoosiers had not gotten the memo. Suddenly, a man came running over with excitement in his voice and yelling, “Why haven’t you moved that *&^%$#@! car?”

Blond and totally oblivious at the time, I didn’t realize that the wheels of our car were half-buried in the sand. Panic set in as we all jumped to our feet but that Buick was going nowhere, no way, and no how.

Our knight-in-shining-armor, who I assumed was there to save us, just kept shaking his head as if we were idiots. Okay, okay, we weren’t the smartest sand lovers on the beach. Finally, he hollered to a few guys around us for help and just like a scene from Beach Blanket Bingo, we were surrounded by muscle in no time. They heaved and pushed and rocked the car back and forth as it spun in the sand but she wasn’t budging!

Exasperated, our hero looked at me and said, “So, what did you expect?”

A valuable lesson was learned that day and even a beloved  Sunday School story came to mind that went along with our scenario. You can’t build anything on a sandy foundation. It sinks. Period. You will always need someone to come bail you out. Maybe it’s because the tide is coming in or because your sand castle is collapsing, but that house will just not withstand the storms of life.

Because you need a sure thing. You need a solid foundation.

In this world of uncertainty we must be established in what we believe! It is imperative that we KNOW Jesus Christ, not just know about Him. All of the Sunday School stories in the world will not do us any good if we have not been filled with His spirit. They are just stories until you know Him.

Look at what Jesus said here in the book of Matthew. I don’t normally use The Message version but this is so good, (don’t skip it! It really is good!)

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” Matthew 7:24-27

Stupid carpenter on the sandy beach. That was me that day because there was no plan, no thought that if you park next to the ocean you are going to have problems!

Today, at 99% of the beaches in the Sunshine State, you must park in the PARKING LOT; surely that rule/law came about the day after we left the ocean behind. I am a trendsetter like that! Mercifully, Frankie Avalon and his beach buddies saved the day and rocked the car right out of the sand…eventually.

Thankfully, I do not have to worry about that happening to me again. Nor do I worry about the spiritual house I am building. It is fixed on the Rock, Christ Jesus, and nothing can sink it or tear it down. These are homeowner improvements to my life! My house will not get washed away when troubles come.

What do you expect when storms come your way? They will come, friend, they will come for sure. But we do not have to be afraid when we are built on the solid foundation, Jesus Christ.

What are you building on?