Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Matthew 7:24-25 ESV
I have four daughters who got married within a four-year period. It was a blissful season, but talk about a hit to the pocketbook! This was especially true when it came to wedding cakes. They’re incredibly pricey, after all!
After spending a fortune on my oldest daughter’s wedding cake, daughter #2 asked if I would make hers. I reluctantly said yes, though I knew little about the process. With the help of some friends I managed to pull it off. And by the time daughter #3 got married, she assumed I would make her cake. Same with daughter #4.
Enter Janice, the Baker!
After all of those weddings, the community at large seemed to adopt me as their resident cake-baker. I found myself on many an occasion, making cakes for friends. Such was the case when my eldest daughter’s best friend got married. She asked if I would make her cake—a simple four-tiered one with black ribbon around the bottom of each tier. I agreed. It would be my gift to her.
I struggled from the get-go. Nothing seemed to come together as planned. My mixer broke. The cakes didn’t turn out right. But I overcame, and eventually had four tiers of cake to deliver to the venue. I drove to the country club and pieced together the four tiers, adding the ribbon. Then I headed off to the wedding—in a different location.
Imagine my shock, an hour later, when I arrived back at the country club to find the cake table empty.
Wait. . .What?
To my horror, I learned from one of the employees that the cake had fallen. I found it, in pieces, in the kitchen. Through my tears, I did my best to piece together the two remaining tiers, but they were a complete mess. The bride was understanding, but even now, all these years later, I feel a little nauseous every time I re-live the experience.
My cake didn’t have a firm foundation. It wasn’t structured properly. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was still so new to the cake-making biz. But now I realize that it was an accident waiting to happen.
Perhaps you can relate. If you build your life on a weak foundation, things will surely crumble. But if you build on the Rock, it will stand firm, no matter how many storms pass over.
Challenging Thought: Have you built your house on the rock or the sand? Would you consider your spiritual foundation solid?
Read more devotions like this one in a new book Janice co-authored with Louise Looney titled An Overcoming Walk of Peaks and Valleys, now available on Amazon!
