Foundations.

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.
-Saint Augustine

I've been thinking alot about foundation lately. Foundation is the basis or groundwork of anything. The beginning. Establishment. I went for years as a Christian without strong foundations. Not because I wasn't at a good church, or because I wasn't taught correctly, or anything like that...but there was a point when I CHOSE to go back to the basics, right to the root. And once I had established a firm foundation in my faith, I was able to build so much more on it, & I feel that I'm a stronger Christian than I've ever been. Not to say there isn't room for improvement...but you get it.

About a month ago, I was hanging out at a friend's house with a bunch of people, & I got into a conversation with someone about music, & the extremes people can go to by saying that all non-Christian music is bad, or whatever. From there, discussion got serious & at one point the person I was talking to just said, "You know, God has just been speaking to me SO much about the importance of foundation lately. If we can get solid foundations, it's easy to build anything else on those foundations...like when you suddenly get revelation on something you read in the Bible that you never understood before, or you see a concept outworked in your life that you don't remember ever seeing before." And it's true - if we're willing to go back to the beginning & have humility to realize that maybe we don't know as much as we thought we did, we increase our ability to learn & to grow & to be effective by...well, alot.

Last week I was at the same friend's house talking to someone entirely different, & they just said, "I've always thought of you to be a person of foundation. Someone who has a passion for expansion, but understands that it can't come until you've grasped the importance of your foundation first." I've had ONE actual conversation with this person before they told me that. And as I've considered these things over the week, I've realized that there's truth to that assessment. I always love the beginning. Of anything. There's an excitement that comes with not knowing what's coming next. And I always like to look backwards & see WHY things happen, asking questions: "Where did they start?" or "How did we get to the place we're at now?"

See, it's always those "small" concepts that we think we have a hold on where our foundations are built...

God's love...

grace...

humility...

faith...

obedience...

sacrifice...

I had a general understanding of them through most of my Christian life, but they were not REAL to me before last year. And as I threw myself into learning more, my life began to change & I began to see more & more, & hear God speak more clearly.

Foundation, foundation, foundation.