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Time to Re-Build?

By Robin May

Published: September 22, 2010

Straw, Sticks or Brick?
I have two daughters. One is 3.5 years old and the other is 1.5 years old. Before we go any further can everyone reading this take a moment and say a quick prayer for me? Okay thanks.

Recently I messed up with my 3.5 year old mini-me, Ryann. Although I know my child well, a few nights ago, I decided to read her the popular children’s story of the “Three Little Pigs.” But not only did I read the story to her…I added all of the drama that any story like that deserves! I spoke in a very high-pitched squeaky voice to represent the pigs…I lowered my voice very deep to represent the wolf, and I banged the wall hard to represent the wolf knocking at the door.

But I should have known better than to do all of that when reading to Ryann.

While I’m not sure if it’s because she is 3 and is now aware of the world around her and its dangers…or if she has inherited the ‘scary’ nature of her mommy and her maternal grandmother (I know God hasn’t given us a Spirit of fear…I asked for prayer earlier…I was serious). But regardless of which one it is, my daughter can be easily frightened. So as I’m reading the story of the “Three Little Pigs,” my child interrupts me after I get halfway through the story. She says “Wait mommy. I don’t think I like that big bad wolf. I don’t want him to blow my house in.”

In case you can’t remember the story let me quickly refresh your memory.

As the popular children story goes, "Once upon a time…” there were 3 little pigs who each decided to build themselves a home. The first pig quickly built himself a house made of straw. But if you remember there was a “big bad wolf” that eventually showed up, knocked on the door of the straw house and asked if he could come in. The little pig responded by saying “not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!” But the wolf ignored him and huffed and puffed and blew the house in.

The second pig swiftly built himself a house as well. It took him longer than the first pig, but he still finished quickly. His home was made of sticks. Unfortunately, he fell to the same fate as the first pig. The big bad wolf showed up, knocked on the door and eventually the wolf huffed and puffed and was able to easily blow the house of sticks in.

But finally, the third pig was smarter than the first two. He built himself a house of bricks. Of course it took him longer and it was more of an investment to build his home. I’m sure that the 1st and 2nd pig teased him about how long it was taking him. I can even imagine that there were times that the third pig felt that maybe his friends were right. Maybe he shouldn’t take so much time to build his house. But he soon was very thankful that he took his time. Eventually, just like he did with the first two pigs, the big bad wolf came to knock on his door. But the third little pig was not afraid. The wolf huffed and puffed…and huffed and puffed, and as the story goes “he could not blow the house in.”

Do you remember the story now? Well, my child was not interested in hearing anymore of the story after the big bad wolf showed up at the second pig’s house. Do you remember what Ryann said? She very earnestly said “Wait mommy. I don’t think I like that big bad wolf. I don’t want him to blow my house in.”

You know there is a lesson in this for us right? Well, at least it was for me. It’s such a simple lesson I’m sure you are already with me, so let me ask you right now. Which one of the 3 little pigs represents the house you’ve built?

Over the course of our lives, there will be many ‘houses’ that we build. Our walk with God, our finances, our relationships with others, our careers, all represent the different ‘houses’ we are building. The question we must all ask is what have I used to build my house? Have you built your ‘house’ with straw? Did you use sticks? Or have you taken your time to build your house with ‘bricks’? Would you have any reason to fear if the big bad wolf showed up at your door?

The third little pig in the story reminds me a lot of the unnamed wise man in Matthew 7:24: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

There is something that I can guarantee you with all certainty. The rain will come. All of us at some point in our lives…several times in our lives…will experience the rain, the floods, the winds….or the ‘big bad wolf.’ But I firmly believe that how we come out of the storm is contingent on how we built our ‘house’ in the first place. Proverbs 12:7 promises us that “…the house of the righteous will stand.”

Back to Ryann. Because I know that my child is very literal, I tried to make this a life lesson for her as well. I taught her that she doesn’t have to worry about the wolf blowing her house down because she was protected by Jesus. I encouraged her to say “I plead the blood of Jesus” whenever she was afraid that something was going to harm her. My child calmly told me that she would prefer to say “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” instead of talking about Jesus’ blood. (Do you see now that we really need your prayers?)

As for us…I don’t think that hiding behind the hair on our chins will work. But I do believe that we can start now to re-build any of our ‘houses’ that we know aren’t built on the rock. We may have to drastically destroy what was built in the past or we may simply need to do some remodeling. But I’m sure that as you think through the areas of your life, you can identify—almost immediately—which one of your ‘houses’ is built of straw or sticks. And if like me, you don’t want your house to suffer the fate of the first two pigs, then it’s time to re-build.

I encourage you to pray this simple prayer with me: “Father, I know that I am covered by the blood you shed for me. But I also know that having that faith with no works is fruitless. So give me the wisdom to know what areas of my life need to be rebuilt. And then I pray for the courage and strength to start the reconstruction. Amen.”

 

© Robin May. All rights reserved.

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