Have you ever noticed how many home-improvement shows there are on TV right now? It seems like everywhere you turn someone is flipping houses or someone is redesigning an old house, making it look awesome for a new family. It's fascinating; if you like that sort of thing…which I do. I really like to watch the transformational story. What I've noticed is that they (whoever “they” may be) always take the time to make sure the foundation is stable before they start proceeding with the rest of the project. They check to make sure that the slab of concrete or the joists under the house are in good working order. And they'll explain to you almost every time that the reason they make sure that the foundation is in check is so the rest of the house will stay balanced and structurally whole for the work that they will be doing. If the foundation is cracked or weak or broken, it becomes the primary concern for the contractor. In the shows, it also usually means re-configuring the budget and timeline to insure the work is done right.
The same is true in human lives. We love transformational stories. Often times we like to see the before and after photos but we don't think about the messy process that is necessary to achieve “Better” status. And what about the foundation? How do we check the foundations in our lives? In order to check to see if your foundation is in order, sometimes you have to crawl through the dark and neglected places of your heart, mind, and soul. You must delve into the messy, dirty, dark parts and bring enough light to really see what is going on, to see what kind of issues you are dealing with. Just like the renovation shows, you have to know the status of your foundations before you can try and improve what you have. You want the work you put into your life to matter and to last, so why build on an illusion?
There is this tendency in all of us to ignore hard things. Why would I willingly go somewhere that potentially could scare me and force me to work hard, when I can just slap on a fresh coat of paint and call it “new”? It is scary to look into those deep parts of our hearts. I don’t know you, but you may have some deep hurts, secrets, or traumas that you are trying to ignore. You may just want to “move on” with your life. Maybe you don’t have much to ignore, except that it will be hard work to take some time and examine where you stand. But trust me, it is worth it!
When was the last time you took a look at your foundation? How is your heart? What is the state of your innermost being? Are the some inconsistencies? Relational hurts? Are things working in harmony or is there incongruence?
So before you go about your renovation process (and all of us, no matter what age we are, have areas in our lives that have room for improvement), take some time to inspect your foundation. If you need someone to work with you, get the support you need, but just make sure you check.