Cracks are not beautiful!

This last weekend my husband and I took a little mini vacation.  We really needed this time away to revive.  We decided to start our weekend off by going over to our house, that has been empty for 2 years, and check on it.  While he mowed the lawn I walked through the house.  What I found made my heart sink.  We knew there was damage to the house due to a water leak from the roof.  What we didn’t know is that our job of covering the area with plastic on the roof did not hold.  The last time we went a couple months ago it was still there but it does not take long when wind and rain are coming down daily.  I found a once beautiful kitchen that I worked so hard on remodeling, starting to actually crumble.  I then found myself sitting in the middle of the living room floor crying and asking God why He allowed this to happen to my home.  Why did He take us so far away that we could not stay in our home or keep a close watch on it?  My mind filled with so many questions.  Questions I could not find any answers to.  My heart truly seemed to be lying on the floor in front of me.  How on earth are we going to be able to move this house without it falling apart?  How are we going to repair all the damage and still have it livable?  So many more things started running through my mind.  As tears fell, my hope went with them.  My husband walked through the door and saw the new damage for the first time.  He turned and saw his wife and said, “It will be ok.  It will all work out!”  We finished up our business there and left.  We went about the rest of our night but the house was not far from my thoughts.  This situation, it seemed, was trying to ruin our much needed time to rejuvenate.  I played into that for a short time till God reminded me, once again, that He was in control.  “Ok God I trust you, with EVERYTHING!  You said go and we went.  You knew then what you were doing and you know now!”  We had a beautiful weekend after that.  Time shared with friends and family but most of all with each other.  When our weekend began to come to a close my mind fell to the house again.  This time however, it was thinking how this house that I so much cared for was a reflection of God in our own lives.  How you may ask?  Well let me explain.

We as Christians tend to think we have it all together.  Even when the rough stuff comes we still think we got it under control, at least somewhat.  As in taking care of my home while we lived in it.  If something went wrong  we would repair it, knowing that if we did not, it would only get worse.  We as Christians see things in our lives sometimes and we choose to fix them.  But sometimes we don’t pay attention to that small crack over there that we allowed to begin.  A word perhaps said unkindly or a thought left unchecked.  We go about our daily lives attending to the things we can.  Sometimes we may take notice of the crack and tell ourselves that it is ok, it isn’t very big at all.  We leave it unattended.  My friend I’m here to tell you that leaving things unattended in our Christian walk is very detrimental.  It can lead to so many things if left unchecked.  In time it can become a bigger crack and it can start to crumble the very foundation you stand on.  God doesn’t ask us to give all but that “one” thing to Him.  It isn’t ok for you to hold on to something that you value as important.  I’m here to tell you, like my house that I loved so dearly, you WILL begin to crumble.  Maybe not right away but I can guarantee that you will.

  “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-9 

Don’t be too proud to admit that you have cracks and for goodness sakes DON’T think that they are ok to let be.  God doesn’t tell us to be alert for no reason people.  There is someone out there that HATES you and wants to kill you.  It starts with allowing him access to the small things and him telling you that it is ok to let them be.  God NEVER told us that once we become a Christian we can sit back and relax.  STAND up Christians and FIGHT!  This is not a time for us to allow those cracks to remain in our lives.  My challenge this week . . .  What do you have in your life that you have allowed to stay a little too long?  What have you convinced yourself that it wouldn’t hurt to stay?  Don’t allow the devil to fool you.  Fix those cracks RIGHT NOW!  Make sure that you keep your house tended to.  Don’t grow comfortable or lax about your Christian walk.  Because I can guarantee that the devil NEVER becomes relaxed about trying to kill your love for God!