Foundation Stabilization


If you have lived in North Central Texas for any length of time, you’ll probably notice that many homes in this drought-weary area experience significant “settling,” including your own. In 2003, we noticed at the parsonage some small and large cracks crawling up the walls, doors not closing properly, and big cracks in the slab.

Apparently, the kitchen sunk six inches and was in danger of splitting apart. To address the problem, a foundation company was hired to fix this issue. They pumped enough mud (cement slurry solution) under our slab to raise it six inches in order to level the house and keep it from slipping off into the creek just off the southeast corner of the lot. The work fixed the problem and stabilized the foundation, but we have to regularly use soaker hoses to keep the ground from drying out and more cracking to ensue.

Life is essentially the same. We often don’t know how we will weather a storm until after it passes. And if we’re not careful, we miss the clues that point to the weak points in our own foundation. Just as the cracks in the walls, the sticking door jams, and the drifting slope to the kitchen sink were indicators that something was wrong with our home’s foundation, so too, things like negative attitudes, prayerlessness and cynicism are indicators that our spiritual foundation is shifting and not as stable as it once was.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. —Matthew 7: 24-27

A wise person once said, “A Bible that is falling apart belongs to someone who is not.” Become firmly grounded in the Word of God, and when the storms of life come, your faith will remain intact because your foundation is stable.

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