“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3: 11.

I love summer. The heat and I get along pretty well. I especially love that I get to wear flip flops. They’re cute, make fun flippy noises when I walk and I can get a whole wardrobe of them cheap. All pluses in my mind.

In a normal summer, my flip flop wear is limited to weekends and evenings when I’m home from work. Work shoes tend to have a more solid foundation, giving my high arches ample support. This summer, however, I am unemployed. Which, among other things, means that I am wearing flip flops nearly every hour of every day. Too much of a good thing? Yep. I’m finding that the lack of support from the flimsy, flippy foundation has caused pain and discomfort for my soles.

Which got me thinking.

Don’t we sometimes approach our faith and relationship with Jesus that way? It can be so easy to slip into the sandy, unsturdy foundation of life’s distractions that our souls end up aching and lost. I can whip myself into worrying about something I have no business in, losing focus as my eyes come off Jesus and onto some circumstance of life.

Life, like my flip flops, is good in moderation. We should laugh and enjoy life, but always with the solid foundation of our relationship and identity in Christ. When we are firmly connected to the truth of His word, we can filter life through the proper lens and not lose sight of what’s really important – our eternity with Him. Like the inexpensive flip flops I love to wear in the summer, this life is temporary and should be approached as such.

Building life on anything less than the Rock of Christ is risking far too much. Shifting sand feels great on my feet, but I never want to build my life on it.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

When we are going through trials, facing all that life tends to throw at us, it can be difficult to process. As an adult, I often find myself lost for explanation for suffering and calamity. Even as an adult, with adult ability to understand and reason, some things just don’t make sense and require me to leave it to God.


Imagine what it’s like when you’re a kid. Trying to understand why bad things happen, especially when those bad things are happening to you. Even those with the strongest faith can find themselves tested. Now, factor in time. To a kid, time is a huge deal. Days can seem like months and months, frankly, are eternity.

A good friend, a youngster, is in the midst of a storm that is hard to understand. He has gifts and abilities that are special, and yet, circumstances have kept him away from using those gifts for over a year. He has faced setback after setback, which is really testing his resolve and faith. Time seems like it is ticking away from him, threatening the very gifts he knows are from God.

But God is timeless. He is, was, and always will be. While that may be a hard concept to wrap our heads around, it can also bring comfort, knowing that in all things, God is with us and is working in our lives.

When we face trials, our first response should be praying and seeking God. If those trials drag on, there is a reason. Perhaps it is to allow us to remain trusting and patient in the wait. It could likely be that something bigger and better is planned beyond the current situation. We cannot know, we can only choose to trust.

The ancient blessing in Numbers was a way to ask for divine favor. The blessing conveys favor and protection, His pleasure in us, mercy and compassion, approval and peace. By turning our attention away from the circumstance and toward the great I AM, perspective changes and we can slip into the timelessness of His presence. There, we will find peace and hope for the future. The future we can trust Him with.