How Firm a Foundation

A tradition within the tradition of Family Home Evening has developed in our family--the opening song that we always sing is "The Wise Man Built His House on a Rock."  We have told the kids the story of how Chad's dad was building a home just up the street from where we live now.  He had put months of effort into building and preparing the foundation for the new home.  The foundation began to sink and crack when he realized that the foundation that he was building on was an unstable one--due to some peat moss in the area.  Months of hard work and effort, not to mention time and cost of materials were lost, and he had to begin again on a new lot--one with a strong foundation for him to build upon.  Each week we have sung this song complete with the fun actions that go along with the lyrics:

"The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.

Oh the rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
And the house on the rock stood still."

The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
And the rains came tumbling down.

Oh the rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
And the house on the sand washed away."

It is Christ that we must build our foundation on. In the Book of Mormon in Helaman 5:12 we read:

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Christ is our ONLY sure foundation.  Everything else is fleeting, unstable, and eventually crumbles.

The day after we found out about the cancer, the kids wanted to stay home from school.  That evening we had been a little housebound and decided to drive to Temple Square.  We went through the gates and a man stopped to tell us that the Tabernacle Choir was practicing and that we could go listen to them if we wanted.  I said a silent prayer in my heart that the hymns they were singing would offer our family some comfort.  We walked in and the choir was singing "How Firm a Foundation."  We came in right on the 2nd verse which says:

2. In every condition in sickness, in health,,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand so thy succor shall be.

3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,--
Upheld by my righteous, Upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee overflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee.  And sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

5.  When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient,shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, Thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

6.  E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still, Like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

7.  The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never,no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

Needless to say--my prayer was answered in a miraculous way!  These words were such a comfort to us and continue to provide comfort.  I especially like the "as thy days may demand so thy succor shall be." The word succor means--assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.  I have felt Him succor us and the Spirit assured me that our Savior does not just support people in the beginning of their trials; He will provide succor or support or help as each day demands--personalized help for whatever the challenge of that day may be!!!!

When our family gets overwhelmed, sad, or discouraged at the road that lies immediately ahead of us, in other words, when the rains are coming down and the floods are coming up--we get out the hymn book and sing all 7 verses of this song to remind us of the wonderful promises to those who have faith in Jesus Christ and put all their trust, hope, and faith in Him who has power to deliver!  This inevitably brings a calm and peaceful feeling in our hearts and strengthens our foundation of faith.

I will be starting chemo in a few days and it is as if the Lord is continually trying to remind us of His promise to strengthen us, succor us, be with us, and never forget us--through the words of this song.  On Wednesday I attended a stake fireside for the youth and we sang How Firm a Foundation for the closing song.  Chad said they sang it yesterday at a priest/laurel retreat he attended and this morning, in a ward leadership meeting he was attending, and today as the opening hymn in our sacrament meeting!