My rock

Since Bobcat man came Friday and scraped away all of the blessed weeds and the top inch of layer of ground from our backyard, Brian and I spent the last three days handpicking up each blasted rock and throwing it into what will soon be the "Firepit Patio". I have no earthly idea how to build a patio, but Brian has had some experience with it at his mom's house and he's a mechanical engineer, that should count for something, right?
Back to the rock transplanting: Yesterday I was mostly in charge of picking up rock, as Brian was trying to seed the ground that had just been "tilled". He came over and observed a load I had just dumped into the pit, picking up one rock after another and claiming: "This isn't a rock, Amy, it's clay. We don't want to put this in as the foundation of our patio. Clay shrinks and expands, rock stays firm. We don't want all of the gravel, sand and then flagstone to buckle under us, or the patio to not be straight."
Yesterday, I got frustrated with that statement. Why can't I just leave all those Rock-imposter clay lumps in there? They're hard like rock! But I was tired of bending over for 10 straight hours, so I was a little grumpy.
This morning, I was thinking about it as I was looking at the 16x16 hole in our ground that will one day soon be a patio, complete with fire pit. I'm looking forward to the end result of patio furniture, some potted cactus, roasting marshmallows on a chilly evening, singing devo songs under the stars. Then a song popped into my head:
Jesus, You're my firm foundation. I know I can stand secure.
Oh Jesus, You're my firm foundation. I put my hope in Your Holy Word, I put my hope in Your Holy Word.
I have a living hope, I have a future. God has a plan for me, of this I'm sure.
Your Word is faithful, mighty with power, God will deliver me, of this I'm sure.
Jesus you're my firm foundation. I know I can stand secure.
Oh Jesus, you're my firm foundation. I put my hope in Your Holy Word, I put my hope in Your Holy Word.
Building this patio is a lot like building my life. I can be like the wise man, who built his house on the rock: lining my life first with God's word and constantly communicating with Him. Or, I could be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. I can line my life with what I think looks like religion, or being holy, or even with comforts that I enjoy every day. But when the rains come in and the floods come up, my little life is just going to go SPLAT.
I feel like God has carried me through a SPLAT. He has given me a second chance to rebuild my life on what is important: HIM, my husband, my family, my church, my friends, my job. My priorities were out of whack and I was using building materials that were not going to stand the test of time. I only feel alone when I am not looking up at Him. I only feel lost when I'm not responding to His hand on my shoulder, guiding me. I only feel like the ground from underneath me is cracking when I have not stood on the ROCK.
Once again, my sweet husband has taught me an invaluable lesson, even though he was talking patio. I'm so grateful for that man, God has blessed me so much by putting Brian in my life by using him to speak to me.