I love building Duplo towers with my nephew. Most of the time I start playing with the blocks, when Gideon comes over to help. Immediately, the goal is not to make a house or some kind of vehicle, the goal is to use every single piece and make the tallest tower. It’s the best, but there is a point where the tower starts to shake. Gideon loves to see how tall we can make it, but the strength of the tower is not there, we don’t focus on the foundation, all that matters is that we make the tallest tower. I love when we use the last piece then let go, only to see the tower fall and break everywhere. His reaction is always priceless, and then we start the process over again.

I love this as an illustration for life. Often, we want to be seen, noticed, and affirmed so we do all we can to rise to the top. Standing out is all that matters right? What happens in this moment though, is we forget to make a solid foundation, we don’t try to support our Duplo tower, we just push ourselves to be seen. I know in my life, this has been true, I just want to stand out and for people to affirm me, but sacrificing a strong foundation will only lead to an eventual crash.

Building blocks with Gideon reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-25, “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

This month is mental health awareness month, and for me, when I try to rely on my own strength, that is when my anxiety gets the worst. I try to be noticed and try to have others view me as worthy, but my foundation is not built on something solid. It is built in me, and building my life on my own strength is like sand. That’s what Jesus notes in that story of building a house, one is built on rock and the other is sand. That sand represents everything that is not in Christ. Sand shifts and changes, much like our own abilities. My emotions, my circumstances, and the unknowns I face shift like sand.

When you choose to have your foundation in Christ, nothing can come against you.

The thing with my mental health and spiritual walk is that I want to find the right place where everything falls into place and makes sense, the problem is, that won’t ever happen. Jesus never illustrates in that scripture that the house on the rock doesn’t face any storms, He says that the house on the rock will not fall in the face of the storms.

The storms will come. There are going to be hard days and days where you don’t feel worthy. On those days we have a choice; we can place our faith on solid foundation or foundations that will fall apart. Dear Danielle and I each morning wake up early and the first thing we take care of, is where we place our foundation. Before the day comes at me, I want to make sure that I am building the house on the rock. This is not a groundbreaking thing I’m sharing here, but what I am saying that from personal experience, I have a stronger comfort in my day when I start it by reminding myself of who God has made me to be.

God made you, He loves you and calls you worthy.

What would it look like if you were to stop trying to make your life the tallest tower and began focusing on a solid foundation?

What would happen if you didn’t seek the approval of others and started pursing a God who loves you deeply?

Build your house on the rock, start with a solid foundation and build yourself up, carefully being supported by the creator of all.

Gideon likes the tall towers because, let’s face it, it’s fun to watch blocks come crashing down. Crashing in real life isn’t as fun. You may be facing some serious weights right now, I know that in this month of being aware of mental health, it is important not to live in those thoughts. Sometimes you need someone to talk to, maybe it’s a counselor or therapist that will help you with a plan. It could be that you are needing to find a solid community or leave the community you find yourself in. You may have some sin in your life that you haven’t dealt with, and instead of hiding it, you need to get it out to find healing. Whatever season you may be going through, God loves you.

He made a way through sacrifice so that you could find freedom and true joy in Him.

Build your house on the rock. Create a solid foundation so that no matter the storm that comes your way, you can remain firm because you know who God has called you to be.

-Joshua Thomas

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About the Author: Joshua Thomas is a writer by day and superhero by night. When he’s not writing and crimefighting, you can find him reading a good book, sipping warm tea, taking pictures, or dreaming. The young writer doesn’t fully know what he’s doing, but is enjoying the journey of it all. You can follow his hipster photos and Jack Kerouac musings on Instagram @joshua_thomas__