Built To Last

I ran into someone I knew from a church I attended years ago.
It was so good to see her and her husband.
I have seen her a few times through the years, but it has been a while.
I knew that we had a lot of catching up to do.

I would love to stop and see you, I said.
Oh, that would be lovely, she answered.
I pass her house often as I do errands around town.
We laughed that we both still have our landline.

Since I still have the directory from that church, it will be easy to call and set something up.
I know many people who go to the church she attends now.
One person in particular came up in conversation.
Did you know that she lives in my old house? I asked her.

My friend was pleasantly surprised to learn that little fact.
It made me think of all those years ago.
We moved from that house when our fifth child was born.
It will always be special to me, since we built that house when we only had two children.

While we lived there, we built a front porch.
How I loved that porch.
I would sit and read to my children on the porch swing.
I watched them play on the front lawn from that porch.

I worshiped God on that porch as I watched birds fly to the bird feeder.
I worshiped God on that porch as deer ran in the woods, their white tails showing.
I worshiped God on that porch as I heard the sound of my children all around me.
I worshiped God on that porch as I read his Word.

When we moved from that house, I always wondered who lived there.
I always hoped that whoever it was, they loved God as much as I did.
I always hoped they used that house for Him.
I always hoped that a large family lived there and filled the rooms with joyful noise.

I wrote about the front porch; I wrote about an upside down post I found on the railing.
I admitted all the things I hoped for as I remembered that porch.
I knew there were multiple owners since we moved from that house.
I had no idea about any of the people who lived there.

When I wrote about the front porch, a friend contacted me.
She knew the family who lives in my old house.
Everything I hoped for, was indeed true.
My friend promised that she would make sure the woman in the house read my post.

I was so touched that the current owner took the time to write a lovely comment.
I knew from her words that we were kindred spirits.
It was the last line of her comment that was so sweet.
It was the last line of her comment that meant so much.

Anytime you would like to come back and share a cup of coffee on that front porch, know that the invitation is always there.

I knew that I would accept her invitation.
I knew that soon, I would be sitting on the porch that we built all those years ago.
She, a mother of six, and I, a mother of five, would sit on that porch together.
It was an afternoon I looked forward to immensely.

How sweet it was to walk up the few porch steps.
How wonderful it was to walk across the porch and knock on the front door.
There was a porch swing just like we had all those years ago.
There were rockers as well.

How I loved walking through my old house.
The house had the personality of this family.
She and I liked similar accents around the house.
The kitchen was redone and some spaces were opened up; it was lovely.

We sat at the kitchen island having our tea.
I admired her beautiful hardwood floors.
I remember when my husband installed ceramic tile in that kitchen all those years ago.
I remember how disrupted the kitchen was for the duration of that project.

Oh, the floor was so hard for us to pull up, she told me.
I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure which floor she was talking about.
In my heart, I knew.
In my heart, I new she was talking about the tile floor my husband installed.

We had to use a jackhammer to remove that tile, she told me.
She never asked me directly if we had installed that tile floor.
I never told her my husband was the one who laid that tile.
I never told her that day.

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)

My husband laughed when I told him how difficult it was to remove the floor he installed.
Built to last, he said with a smidgen of pride in his handiwork.
I had an opportunity to tell her another day.
I told this sweet woman that my husband was the one who installed the tile floor.

Built to last.
It is no different for us when we build our lives on the Rock.
We are on solid ground when we stand on the Rock that is Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4)
No jackhammer can break the Rock on which we stand.

The family who lives in my old house loves the Lord.
The woman teaches Bible study and likes to write as well.
God knew what he was doing when He brought that family to our old house.
God is worshiped there, God’s Word is read there, the foundation is Rock solid.