2020: Are You In The Valley?

Friends,

I think we all need a little more hope in 2020, am I right? Well, I opened God's word and what I am about to share absolutely flew off the pages of my Bible. I mean, I have read this scripture a hundred times, and never once did I see how God specifically walks with us and comforts us when we suffering! We have all read about God being our Shepherd and the way he gently guides us through life as our protector and sustainer.  But, today... I want to talk to my friends who are deep in IN THE VALLEY of suffering.  What does it mean to be in the "valley of the shadow of death"? Well if you look at other translations of the Bible it's also called "the darkest valley".  Simply put, we are all near that valley, and we will all walk it one day.  We are fragile, life is short, and that valley is an inevitable part of humanity. So, when unexpected suffering walks through our doors, we move from the greener pastures into the dry valleys.  Have you been there before? Are you there now? Well, read on my friend because God is more near you today than he was in those greener pastures and he is full of comfort.  First, let us all read it together (emphasis added):

The LORD Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I want you to stop right now and let me paint you the most beautiful visual you ever needed to see:

• At the beginning of the verse, He is in front of us: "He leads me beside still waters"
• At the end of the verse He is behind us: "Goodness and mercy will follow me"
• But in the middle, IN THE DARKEST AND HARDEST OF TIMES OF SUFFERING, HE IS WITH US!!! "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, ...you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me"

Think about that my friends... of all the times you needed God to be with you the most, He shows up in the valley, just in time. He walks alongside your weary soul and what does He do, He comforts you! He does this despite the diagnosis! He is stronger than the addiction, more joy filled than the depression, more faithful than the infidelity, more compassionate in the loss, more able in the financial burden, more sovereign in the infertility.....what is it? What can HE not overcome? Even death cannot separate us from God's comfort, He conquered that too! 

As I watch numerous friends sojourn through the darkest of valleys in 2020, I am inspired by their faith.  I can see them walking side-by-side with their Father and it is beautiful to witness. Keep walking my friends, keep moving forward as God fills you with comfort, and gets all the glory. 

In Christ,

Annie

Inspired by my friends Philip (and Amber), Jen (and Rich), Eric (and Lindsay), & Mary who all walk different paths in this valley, yet suffer so very well... to God be all the glory.

 

Poem: "Hindsight is 2020"

Hindsight is 2020
Poem by Annie Earls

If hindsight is the year 2020,
It sure has been painful but we're learning plenty

We did not know what was to come,
We had to hope when there was none

It was hard, and it was long,
Some days we were weak and some we were strong

But strength, we found is not a feeling,
It must be learned through lots of kneeling

Asking God to heal our land,
from sickness and death while taking a stand

Leaning on Him to teach us to love,
And watching Him work to heal from above

Praying to God that he changes our fate,
to extinguish the thread of injustice and hate

So if hindsight is the year 2020,
Let's learn from this time to always be ready!

Let's make this year count, and always remember,
that humans need love and are better together.

*********************************************************************************
Just a little food for thought...
"Hindsight is 20/20" is defined as "The full knowledge and complete understanding that one has about an event only after it has happened"

....lets never forget what we learned in 2020

Love to you all,

Annie

The Virus of Fear: The Remedy of Faith

18 

Dear Reader,

You may not know this but you and I are intricately connected at this moment, probably more than we ever have been or will be again. We sit at home, surrounded by those we love wondering what the next day, month, or even year may hold for us all. An unwelcome guest entered our homes like a thief in the night and seems to have stolen everything we cherish and enjoy. COVID 19, I can confidently say we all wish you never existed. We close our eyes at night and hope this was all a terrible dream. We wake up and realize it simply wasn't, and we are forced to muster up the strength to get out of bed. We turn on the news and see schools closing, parks closing, and whole states locking down. We talk to friends who are forced to cancel their weddings, graduations, vacations, and other precious events. As the days roll on and the news becomes more ominous, we slowly let fear creep in and paralyze us. The crazy thing about fear is, that it acts like a virus within our hearts.  We often don't know it exists until it starts to affect everything about us...we get weak, we lose our faith, our trust, and mostly our joy. The difference between the virus that plagues our world today and the virus of fear that plagues our hearts is that... 

...Fear has a proven remedy, and it's Faith.

We have to fight against fear today my friends. We cannot effectively live life while also being paralyzed by the unknown. We have to wake up as if we are at war, and instead of mustering up our own strength to fight, we have to put on the armor God gives us. We must hold firm to the shield of faith to protect us from the weight of this world and the worry that is flying towards us relentlessly. We must pick up the sword of the spirit, the Bible, and start swinging like your life depends on it because it does.  We must be like warriors today. We have got to fight fear with faith.

Fear is a conversation with yourself about things you cannot control.Faith is a conversation with God about things He can control.

Faith tells us that no matter what lies ahead of us, God is already there and in full control of the outcome.  Faith reminds us that we will never suffer beyond God's ability to save us or make us more like him. Faith proclaims Jesus conquered sickness and death on the cross for all time! Tim Keller says it well, 

“Jesus lost all his glory so that we could be clothed in it. He was shut out so we could get access. He was bound, nailed, so that we could be free. He was cast out so we could approach. And Jesus took away the only kind of suffering that can really destroy you: that is being cast away from God. He took that so that now all suffering that comes into your life will only make you great. A lump of coal under pressure becomes a diamond. And the suffering of a person in Christ only turns you into somebody gorgeous.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end."

The truth is, COVID 19 will end.  When it does, though the pain and loss will be devastating, HE will do the unthinkable and somehow make it all right.  He will have stripped us of all the good and beautiful things we tend to worship in place of Him (work, school, music, money, recreation, parks, restaurants, travel, weddings, births....the list is endless) and allow us to be singularly focused on Him.  HE WILL MAKE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN HIS PERFECT TIMING. He will re-plant eternity in our hearts and draw us to Himself again.  He is more near to us today than he was before COVID 19 was in existence, and for that (though I shed tears of sorrow for losing all of the beautiful things in life for a time) I am thankful.

Lastly, remember Christ never turns from suffering, He moves toward it.  On the darkest day in Jesus' life, he didn't give up on us and was hung on that cross for our sins, so don't think for one second he will leave us in our darkest days now:)

Much love and lots of stir crazy,

Annie 

When God Says "Not Yet", Let Me Give You Something Better

Friends,

Have you ever begged God to answer a prayer and He simply didn't.  Have you pleaded and cried and wondered if He cared at all?  Have you asked God "why?" and "how long?" knowing that at any moment he could grant you your request...but he doesn't?  If the answer is yes, then know that you are in good company.  I know many of you reading this have struggles that far exceed mine and I want to speak to you today and give you hope. You see, for two years I've prayed the same prayer without an answer and today I want to share something beautiful that happened to my heart along the way.... and how the answer finally came.

2 YEARS OF PRAYER
First, let me back up a bit.....for the last two years I've asked God for something and it seemed like a simple request, it was a prayer for sleep. You see, two years ago when we moved to Virginia Beach, on the very first night, Bella JUST STOPPED SLEEPING.  She has autism, so we have had bouts of sleepless nights before but, after one year passed....we realized that sleep was simply not happening anymore for her.  We would put her to bed at 9pm and she would wake up from 12am-6am.  You can imagine the challenges of getting to school and work on time with a nocturnal child...she was exhausted, and so were we! At night she would wake up and sometimes she was happy and singing (so loud it kept us all awake), and other times she was angry and violent (throwing things through walls, pooping on the floors, screaming for hours).  This picture below is a hole in her wall (one of many marks made during angry tantrums in the middle of the night).  I remember looking at this hole at 2am one night and thinking it was a good representation of my heart at that moment.  So empty.


Did we try to help her sleep you ask? Yes....we tried everything! We changed her diet, gave her melatonin, adjusted technology usage,  tried natural supplements, essential oils, and even medication. Literally, NOTHING worked.   I began losing so much sleep that I would break toes, run into walls, and fall asleep driving.  My brain was not functioning at full capacity. There were MANY nights when I would awaken and just weep...because I had BEGGED God for sleep and my request had not been granted! I fought against anger often...but God was always faithful to remind me that He saw me.

GOD BEGINS TO WORK IN MY HEART
I knew He was working in my heart, there was no doubt. I felt God's presence so vividly at night (even when I was angry).  Nights began to become "my time with God".  He would speak truth into my soul and sometimes even place names and visions of individuals who needed prayer into my mind.  I started spending more time with God at 2am than I ever would have before sleeplessness happened.  I actually began studying prayer and how important it is in our relationship with God.  I learned that the Trinity (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are in a divinely beautiful conversation when we pray.  It works like this.....the Holy Spirit speaks on behalf of our hearts when we don't know what to say (or are simply too weak to utter words), the Son (Jesus) intercedes on our behalf to the Father (because He was one of us, the one who allowed us to be called God's children), and the Father (God) delights to hear our requests and acts according to His will for our eternal good.  Isn't that beautiful? I never imagined that my quiet whispers to God in the middle of the night were so important to Him.

I finally began sharing our struggle (yes, it was Josh's too, he struggled along-side me) with my family, precious girlfriends, our sweet pastor, and our church family.  I shared with them that we had faith that could move mountains about so many things...... but sleep was simply not one of them. I almost couldn't pray about it anymore.  So, being the hands and feet of Christ, my girlfriends came to my home and we all sat on Bella's bed and begged God collectively for sleep.  Their prayers on our behalf reminded me Moses, Aaron & the Israelites in Exodus.  The Israelites were in a battle and Moses was their leader....when he lifted up his arms they prevailed against their enemy but when his arms grew weary they began to lose the battle..... so Aaron came alongside Moses and lifted up his arms in victory.... and the Israelites prevailed!  I could cry thinking of that imagery and the women who sat around me lifting my arms up in a battle cry over Bella's sleep.  They gave me strength through their prayers and reminded me of God's faithfulness regardless of my weakness.

Praying God's Will Be Done (is hard)
I read something about prayer that I wanted to share with all of you weary souls wondering if God hears your requests....it said, "It is correct to think of all God's answers to our prayers as Yes" or "Let me give you something better" because of the intercession of the Spirit, who takes our prayers and molds them to match the will of God" (Megan Hill,  Praying Together).  But Annie, what if God's will seems to be the hard thing? I struggled with that too friend......I mean, is it God's will that I NEVER sleep? Or maybe you wonder.... Is it God's will that I suffer with this illness? Is it God's will that I never conceive a child? Is it God's will that I lose this child? Is it God's will that my husband left me? Is it God's will that.....the list could go on endlessly.

I sought the answer to this too and the Bible plainly tells us in 1 Thess. 4, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification...".  Sanctification? What is that? Well, it is a big word that simply means becoming more like Jesus.  So, I pondered......was two years without sleep God's will for me as a part of my sanctification (something molding me to be more like Jesus).  I can tell you now that it was! In the last two years I have been so hungry for God's word, I simply cannot get enough of it.  It is living water for my parched soul.  I remember asking God a couple of years ago to help me hunger for His word, but I never imagined this is how he would answer me! I wouldn't change it though (ok maybe a few more nights of sleep).  In these last two years, I have studied God's character and found Him to be a good and loving Father.  He is full of endless amounts power,  grace, goodness, forgiveness, justice, and hope....and I found that his will and timing are indeed perfect (even when it seems hard) in the way they mold us to be like Jesus.

I am happy to share with you today that Bella began sleeping through the night a few weeks ago?! God reset her sleep finally.  I want to SCREAM IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS!  Two years of prayer later, and she's sleeping so soundly that we have to wake her up in the morning! I mean it's a miracle ....and every morning when I wake up,  I thank God for sleep.  Bella is so much happier.... and our souls have been truly sanctified in this process.  Josh and I have come out stronger and our faith renewed.  To God be the glory for great things He has done through this hardship.

Now reader I beg you....go and and talk to God.  Don't lose heart.  He is a good Father.  Allow Him to do His work in molding you to be like Jesus. When you grow weary, go the the Word.... then tell a friend, family member, or pastor so they can lift up your arms in the battle. Oh and please tell me how I can pray for you, it would be my honor!

Love you all,

Annie

A Thousand Times

I sit by the bathtub.  In the same spot I always sit (right next to the tub on the cold floor).  It's bath time for my Bella and she often tries to jump out naked and run through the house wet or dump all of the shampoos so...I'm on duty:)

Remember the way you used to watch your infant as they soaked in the bath, conscious of the water level, the temperature, and the amount of shampoo or soap they had access to (as they may dump or drink it)....that's me, with my precious nine year old who has autism. I left the room the other day and she had turned the water so hot that her skin had turned purple, but she didn't make a sound and just sat there motionless as I frantically scooped her out burning my hands in the process.

....I grab the soap, and demonstrate how to put it on a washcloth and lather.  I place it into my child's hands and she looks confused.  I show her how to clean herself and she tries to copy, but doesn't understand the concept.  Soon, she begins to sing her favorite song and drops the wash cloth into the water washing all the soap off.

....I lather my hands with shampoo and conditioner and place them into her hands.  I demonstrate how to move her hands around her head so the lather reaches every surface.  I then place a bit into her hands to see what she does...she pats her head once and begins to laugh then dumps all of shampoo from the bottle into the water as she sings the same song as before and looks off into space.

....she is 9, and we have done this a thousand times, and never yet succeeded.  But tonight it didn't make me sad or disappointed.  I looked at her happy little face as she sang her favorite song and was thankful for her joy.  Weird I know.

It's so strange how God can fill me with little deposits of joy in times where I know I should be tired or broken from seemingly repeated failures.  I often feel completely lost as to how to help my daughter care for herself.  The statistics don't lie, she will outlive me.  The thought of this is too overwhelming to continue discussing.  It's why we have tried a THOUSANDS TIMES to get bath time right.  I want to break through the barriers of autism so that I can control the outcome.  So that my child can grow to have ANY FORM of self sufficiency.  I want this for her future and for my tormented momma heart.  Friends.... I simply can't control autism and I feel like God keeps placing Psalm 139 in front of me as a precious reminder of His plan for me and my family.

I have highlighted the parts of this passage below that shout to my soul.

I could cry.

We are so loved.  Bella included....

Psalm 139

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

I mean, I feel like God is fighting for my heart to turn towards His truth as he speaks to my heart....

"Annie, this word is FOR YOU"

"Annie, I have hemmed you in (you are secure in me and always will be)

 "I created your children and they are perfect...Bella's frame was not hidden from me when I created her and planned her days WITH AUTISM before she came to be"

"When Bella wakes you up each night at 2am, I am with you..... every time"

I just had to share this as I feel like so many of us (myself included) forget that God's word is living and active.  We go about our days searching for things to fill us up with joy and find that nothing seems to quench our thirst.  If there is one thing I have learned as a parent of a child with life long disability, it is that God cannot be replaced.  WE CANNOT LOOK TO OUR SPOUSES, CHILDREN, OR CIRCUMSTANCES FOR LIFE GIVING JOY.  They will fail us a thousand times over.

Now, go fill yourself up in His Word.

Hugs.

Life-long Suffering & Refinement

It's been some of the hardest few months with autism that I can remember....ever.

Two moves full of change, four months of 3am wake-ups, self-harm (she has bruises from punching her own face), elopement, screaming, throwing, flailing, holes in walls, poop on floors, public outbursts, anxiety....the list could go on.  

My poor girl.  It's hard.

I hate saying it's hard for me though because I don't have autism.  I bet it's a million times harder for our Bella to exist with autism than it is for me to be her caregiver?  I am so often told, "Annie, I don't know how you do it?" and  I laugh inside when someone states this, because I utterly fail at motherhood ALL DAY LONG.  Truly, apart from God's endless amounts of mercy and grace, I would be a miserable human who would have to mask my stress through some form of unhealthy physical, mental, or emotional addiction.  It's in the statistics people, special needs parenting (or any other form of life-long or life-altering stress/ailment) can lead down some pretty dark paths. When you go down these dark paths you must find a source of light or  a way to "fill yourself up" so to speak.  So, I get secretly excited when someone gives me seemingly undo "mom-props"  because this is the moment I get share how weak I am and how strong God is! 

If I were to simply lay it out for someone who wanted to know where I find hope in suffering, I'd use the word refinement. I would immediately point to scripture and the way God is spoken of as the "refiners fire".  I would say His fire is painful and often soul shattering but it's worth it in the way it changes us.

John Piper lays it out nicely in speaking of God as a refiner....

"He is a refiner's fire, and that makes all the difference. A refiner's fire does not destroy indiscriminately like a forest fire. A refiner's fire does not consume completely like the fire of an incinerator. A refiner's fire refines. It purifies. It melts down the bar of silver or gold, separates out the impurities that ruin its value, burns them up, and leaves the silver and gold intact...The furnace of affliction in the family of God is always for refinement, never for destruction."

God sends trials to test us, cleanse us, and mold us, yet we are never fully consumed by such trials. His purpose is for His own glory and our delight.  I know that sounds harsh, but God is glorified in the life of a believer when, in the depths of despair they can call out praises to Him.  

I feel as though I am in a constant refinement in this life, and if refinement results in the purification of my heart and my imperfections as a mom, wife, friend, and child of God....then I consider myself extremely fortunate.  What would be truly unfortunate for me (knowing my weaknesses) would be living a life without refinement.  Sure, it would seem easier ...but it would also result in my pride and selfishness being allowed to ignite and flourish within me.  I would be so ugly inside.

In the last few months I have had these thoughts and God has swiftly spoken back to my heart:

"This is hard..."  God- Consider it pure joy that this trial points you to Me child.

"This is our life forever isn't it?"... God- I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you hope...

"Why is it so hard right now?"... God- The testing of your faith produces endurance...

"This will pass right?" God- I am with you always....

I know many of you reading this are struggling.  I know this because I have cried with you and prayed for you.  What I will say is this.....I genuinely hope you are experiencing God's refinement right now my friends ....because the result is a beautiful, soul-satisfying life in Christ.  Without God, finding hope in suffering is like using buckets to bail yourself out a boat with a gaping hole in it....sure there are moments where you feel like "I got this" but ultimately you are still sinking.

1 Peter 5:10

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to this eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you"

If you need Christ in your life or simply prayer, please let me know!  I suffer along side you friend.

In Christ,

Annie

**Note: as I was writing this, Bella escaped our home out front door in her undies (it's 30 degrees out) and tried to go inside a neighbors home (we don't know them and I'm certain they would be shocked by the sight of my half naked 9 year old at their door). Alas, I caught her, and all is well...** 

**and people wonder why I'm a tad cray-cray

** he, he

Clinging to Sinking Sand: Disability in the Hardest Moments

The other day I rubbed my eyes desperately as I realized that I was falling asleep on the mothering job:)  I was sitting down on the couch to quick eat my lunch and had dozed off in the sitting position. I wondered to myself "Why are you so exhausted?".  After all, I had lessons to plan for work, a house to clean, a three year old who wanted to play horsey, and in an hour I needed to pick up the other one.
Then I remembered (as if I had forced it out of thought), that I had been awoken for the fifth day in a row by our sweet Bella at 3 am.  Autism sleep patterns are hard.

...."What was that?" I think to myself..."No it can't be her?"
...."Maybe it was just a thump?"  Nope, she's awake....and it's 3 am again.  She pounds at her door to be opened because it is locked for her safety at night.  We lock it because she has escaped the home before and we couldn't sleep knowing what an escape could mean if we were asleep.

.... She is laughing hysterically, asking for her iPad.  She will not fall back to sleep no matter what I give her, I know that from years of this.....I give in, I let her have her iPad, and try to lay back down...but she tries to escape every half-hour until I finally open her door and sit with her (this is the usual scenario).  She's done this on and off since she was born (not sleeping), but some stretches are harder and longer than others.

A few nights ago,  I was so tired from the numerous days of waking up that I didn't hear her pounding.

I woke up panicked when she started kicking at her door and I sprinted sleeplessly to her room.  I walked in and she was laughing (as usual) but....something was different... it smelled terrible.  My heart sank as I looked at my feet and found poop all over the floor (in numerous locations).  She had pooped herself.  She wasn't embarrassed and she truly thought it was funny.   I looked at it and felt angry and sad all at the same time.  I raised my voice and asked her "Why would you do this?"....she responded by saying "iPad" and laughed again.  I'm angry....angry because she still wears diapers to sleep and she's eight.... angry because she has no understanding of self-care or that pooping on the floor is not normal.....angry because she's eight and cannot exist in the same way as a typical child.  Just so angry. But even more....I am so very sad. Sad that I failed to wake up for her.  Sad because she couldn't get out and I didn't help her. Sad because I can't fix autism.  It's vicious.... this guilt I carry as a special needs mom.

....I cried as I scrubbed the floor at 3 am trying not to wake my three year old or my husband with my sobs and gags from the smell.  "This is my life" I selfishly said to myself in my heart and...."so unfair".

It is amazing, however, how God can graciously correct my hearts perception.  If it seems like I speak about disability often, it's because God speaks to me through it.  He gave me this hymn as I tearfully existed this last week scrubbing fecal matter off the floor:

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus love and righteousness...
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand...
...all other ground is sinking sand."

This is a hymn written in 1834 which resounds in my heart today....

How dare I attempt to rely on anything but Christ as my rock.  Nothing this life has to offer (even the most beautiful things), can satisfy my thirsty soul.  When selfishness, sadness, and despair creep in and I am tempted to ask God why, He reminds me of the why.... and the answer is always..... for His glory.

God did not make a mistake with Bella.  He did not mess up.  He knew she was for us and that through her I would need more of Him.  For this I am desperately thankful.

He has graced me to be a special needs mom and continues to remind me that my child is a precious gift.  It's a beautiful and painful existence as a Christian special needs parent.  Beautiful, because the embodiment of Christ's love for us must exist between me and my daughter at all times.  In the way that I love her, Christ loves us despite our inability to reciprocate that love back to Him perfectly.... He understands our needs although we cannot express them.

....He is always present.
....He is sacrificial.
....He is selfless.
....His love never fails.
....He is my solid rock

I look at the way God loves me and desire to love Bella and others in this manner.  I am reminded that every "other thing" is sinking sand apart from Christ who is my rock:)

Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”