CH 3 Foundations

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came and the wind blew,
and beat upon that house and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And everyone that heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27

These great verses point out the folly of not building upon a sound foundation. The literal point of the verses is certainly true. By application we can look at the areas of our personal and spiritual life and see how important a firm foundation is. Just as we would not build the roof and walls of a house without a foundation, we cannot expect to mature without a foundation from which to grow. When I think of the foundations of my life I think back to two very important women. From a personal or academic standpoint, foundations were certainly laid by my fifth-grade teacher, Pearl Alexander. Because of her efforts I developed the ability to work with and understand the relationships between numbers. She drilled into her students all the mathematical concepts we would need for later years. Miss Alexander was also a master at teaching penmanship. No student leaving her class had an excuse for not being able to execute beautiful cursive writing. She would roll over in her grave if she saw my handwriting after I left college. When I concentrate and slow down the fruit of her efforts still remains.

As important as my teacher and other teachers were to me, the most important person foundationally for me was my maternal grandmother, Sarah Lassley. What a great and gracious Christian woman she was. I remember seeing her read her Bible almost from the earliest time I remember. I still can recall her on her knees in prayer about the most menial, and at the same time the most practical matters. Grandma kept up her spirit with the disappointment of children not following her spiritual lead. Even in the face of her long separation from Granddad, she remained a vibrant Christian with a wonderful testimony.

I never saw her angry, nor did I ever hear an unkind word from her about anyone. She was the greatest Christian influence upon the formative years of my life. I was a baby when she started taking me to the little Salvation Army hall at Harry and Martinson in Wichita. She also made sure my cousins and I attended Bible School each summer. Grandma bought me my first Bible for an early birthday present. When she later wrote letters from California she included her favorite verses as part of her message. God truly used her to get me to the place where He could mold my young life. One of the great treasures in our home is the large Bible that Grandma used to keep family records. I’ve often wished she had marked some of those favorite verses. My great comfort is that they are all there to find the way she did.

"If a proud man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is that he keeps his at the same time." Jonathan Swift

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18