As I spent the day at the state park praying, reading, and seeking God, I began to learn even more about myself and who I was. The good thing about the house of cards is that once it has fallen, we get the chance to start all over again. We have the ability to take the broken pieces, to seek the Lord, and to allow Him to have complete Lordship in our lives. When we are standing in a house of cards, we are hesitant to turn our lives over to God. We are too afraid of what the cost may be to actually allow God to take lordship of our lives. We are afraid of what others may say if the Lord calls us to leave a job, move to another city, or even have to make right where we have wronged others. We even have a tendency to imagine the worst of what others may even think and decide we would rather keep building the house of cards. So we keep building and building and then wonder what happened when it does fall. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:27).
By the end of that Saturday in August of 2006, I understood that there was a lot about my faith in Christ that I didn’t understand, but I had a new appreciation for what He had done for me. I also understood the importance of being completely honest not only with the Lord but with myself. As I began to pick up the pieces in 2006, I became determined that I would, to the best of my ability, pray and seek God’s will in my life. Sure, I have had occasional relapses a few times, but when I realize that I have made a mistake, I do repent and seek the Lord’s strength, will, and guidance. There is a great benefit – a peace of mind and spirit – when the Lord brings us to the place where we have no other choice but to start over. It allows us to refocus our life, to invest in the things that really matter, and to cast aside the things that hold us back.
