Have you ever experienced a real storm?
So I mean a really violent storm?
I will never forget the summer day when I still lived in Bavaria.
It was a sultry June afternoon in 2021 and I was at work, in the
Occupational therapy practice. Suddenly, a really dark cloud front came and darkened the day.
Out of nowhere, it started to rain heavily. But the rain didn't stop there. There was also a
hurricane-like storm, which in turn was accompanied by hail. It stormed, rained and hailed so much,
that I could no longer see the neighboring house on the opposite side of the street.
When I looked out of the window, all I saw was gray. The storm whipped up the hailstones and
Leaves against the window panes. I had never experienced anything like it before. This scenario went on for some
minutes long. Then the rain and hail subsided a little. When I could see something outside again
the road in front of our practice had disappeared. Instead, a river of ice flowed along it.
The manhole covers were blocked by small branches and other flotsam, so that the water could no longer drain away. I watched cars trying to make their way through the water. As they drove past our practice, they half sank into the water. I had never seen anything like it. Here's a little insight in the video:
I thought about my balcony and my car with an oppressive feeling. Beautiful lettuce was growing on my balcony, which I wanted to harvest that day after weeks of loving care. My two blueberry bushes were also bearing fruit that I wanted to harvest soon. When I arrived home after work, I inspected my car. Fortunately, the hailstones hadn't been that big, so my car had survived the storm unscathed. I thanked God for his protection.
However, the world looked different on my balcony. Because of the sun, I had lowered the outside blinds in the bedroom. Although the bedroom window was offset behind my covered balcony, there were holes in the blinds. The balcony was littered with cherry-sized grains of ice. There were only stalks left of my lettuce. The blueberries had also been badly damaged. A single blueberry was still hanging on the two bushes.
Although I was sad about the damage, we got away reasonably well in Schongau. Not far from us, the hailstones were the size of golf balls. In the days that followed, patients told me about holes in the facades of their houses or smashed windows and verandas. Friends of mine have a Motorhome trade. Their mobile homes are all parked in the open air. They live near the Ammersee, where the hurricane hit hardest. The damage in their village was also immense. But they live just outside. They told me that they saw the black wall coming. But the hail stopped just outside their property. None of their mobile homes were damaged. Not even a kilometer away, there was massive hail damage to the houses. At moments like this, I always become particularly aware of the greatness and power of God. He himself guides the storm and protects his children from harm.
The picture
Today's picture is also about such a storm. It is a parable that Jesus once told (Matthew 7:24-27). It's about two men. One man was clever. He built his house on a stable rock where it could withstand wind and rain. No matter how hard the wind shook the house, it stood firm. It was built high up on the rock, where the waves could not reach it. The second man was a completely different story. He was a little more comfortable. If you build your house on a rock, you have to be able to reach the raised rock. This can be an arduous climb. However, it is much more convenient to have a house down on the beach. You are close to the water and can experience the sea up close. This can be incredibly beautiful and romantic. But this proximity to the sea also harbors dangers. The sea is unpredictable. How quickly a storm can drive the sea inland. Even if the house is some distance from the sea, the water can still reach it. If such a house does not have a firm foundation, it will be washed away. So if you are comfortable and want a quick result, build your house on sand. But sand is not a good building ground. It is very easily washed away by water.
The creation of the picture
The picture was commissioned. The client wanted the text to be the main focus and the picture to underline the text. Since painting text with a brush and paint is very time-consuming and difficult to correct, I decided to paint the picture digitally. I use Procreate for this. This is a drawing program for the iPad. I bought an iPad especially for this program in 2022. It turned out to be a very good investment. I'm learning to use Procreate more and more. Many smaller projects have already been created with it. For example, the designs for my latest products: the stickers and buttons.
But I hadn't yet created a real painting with Procreate. But it worked! First of all, I painted the house on the rock in a separate picture. I sat on it for at least 3-4 days. Then I struggled with the house on sand. As it is a collapsed house, a lot of small details were necessary. It was tedious and frustrating at times. But at some point I managed that too. The two houses are the center of the picture. That's why they are the most detailed. 
The rest of the picture was then painted more quickly. The text was also done in one evening and then the picture was finished in one go. The client was happy with the end result and so I was able to have it printed for her. We decided on an acrylic glass print on 40x60cm. That was something new for me. So I was very excited to see how the picture would look. I also had an acrylic glass print made for myself. I really like the end result. The acrylic glass print looks a bit more modern. But I still don't know where to hang my picture.
I also had the picture printed as a poster in A4 format. It can be viewed in my Online store can be purchased. We have also translated it into Czech and printed it as a postcard. Let's see how it goes down with the Czechs 🙂
A few thoughts on the message of the picture
Jesus used this image of the house on the rock and on the sand to make it clear on which foundation we are building. The house stands for our life. What are we building on? What gives us support and stability? What is the foundation for our lives?
Many rely on their family. That is their entire purpose in life. Or a partnership. But how quickly this can be shattered by separation or death. Others rely on their performance, on their work. But what if what you do is not appreciated? Or if you lose your purpose in life due to illness or old age?
What keeps us going, what gives our lives meaning when we lose everything? Health, work, family, money?
Through the story of the two houses, Jesus wants to tell us what really counts in life. What makes the difference for him whether the house defies the storm or not?
He tells us in Matthew 7:24:
„Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.“
In comparison, he says in verse 26 what a mistake the man makes who builds his house on sand:
„And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand.“
Do you notice the difference? Both men hear the words of Jesus. That means they know what is right. They are good in theory and can perhaps also explain it to someone very well. But there is a serious difference between the two: the wise man does what he has heard and the foolish man hears it but does not act on it. Both claim to be Christians. They say they follow Jesus. Both can certainly explain the Bible very well and say exactly what is true and what is false. But the crucial question is not whether you can memorize the Bible, but whether you live by it. This is the biggest problem that most churches have. This is also the reason why most people leave the church. People see that people are not living according to what is taught. As the saying goes: preach water and drink wine. What the churches lack today is integrity. Many Christians live behind a hypocritical façade. But if you were to look behind this beautiful façade, you would be very shocked.
Sometimes you don't even realize exactly what you are really building on in your own life. How quickly do you become dependent on your work and your possessions? Or without realizing it, you make yourself dependent on the opinions of others. When this suddenly no longer fits, you are sad, hurt and doubt God's care.
That is why God allows the storms in our lives. He wants us to recognize for ourselves what foundation our lives are built on. Do I trust my own performance or do I trust the care of God, who can also take care of me when I can no longer do so? Do I rely on erring people or do I rely on God, who can never be wrong?
If you really want to build a storm-proof foundation, you should study the words of Jesus. However, it is no use just hearing them; they must be applied practically in life. We can simply ask God to do this in us. One of my favorite promises from God is found in Ezekiel 36:27:
„And I will put my Spirit within you; and I will cause you to live in my ordinances, and to keep and do my judgments.“
God wants to bring about obedience and faithfulness in us. We will never succeed on our own because we cannot change our selfish hearts. But God wants to give us a new heart and cleanse us of every imperfection.
We can ask for this anew every morning. Every day we can ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He changes us from the inside out. He gives us new desires and goals in life. It also gives us the strength to work on these new goals. If we ask daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we can also trust that God has given him to us. In faith, we should then act as if we already have the answer to our prayers. Our task is therefore to ask God for a new, obedient heart and to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to act accordingly in faith. God's task is then to give us this new heart through the Holy Spirit and to bring about the willing and the accomplishing in us.
God likes to use challenges and trials to train us and change our hearts. This brings us to our limits and makes us realize our weakness. We also recognize our sinful, imperfect heart. Through this realization, we should be led to God and learn to trust him. Through the challenges and trials of life, He wants to cleanse and renew our hearts from all blemishes. If we are not discouraged by the storms of life, but hold on to God, then our house will become more and more stable. To summarize, doing Jesus' words means that we surrender ourselves completely to God, entrust everything to him and are prepared to do or not do whatever he asks us to do.
What foundation have you built your life on? Will your foundation withstand the storms that are currently approaching our country?
The approaching war and the economic crisis are just a small foretaste of what the Bible says will soon befall us. We may lose our entire life - our home, our family, our job, our money or possessions. It can be gone so quickly. The question is, if we lose all that, will we break? If that is the case, we have put our faith in the wrong foundation. But if we have found our greatest treasure in Jesus, then we can say with Martin Luther:
„Take the body, goods, honor, child and wife: let them go, they have no profit, the kingdom must remain with us.“
We can lose all the things in this world. They can be taken from us. Therefore, it is not safe to build on them. But the kingdom of God, eternal life, cannot be taken away from us. Therefore, this should become the goal of our lives and our foundation. When we have truly understood this, then we will be able to let go of everything else, even our own lives.
I wish you and I that we can choose the right foundation and find true happiness here in this world and in the world to come.
In line with this article, I can also share my Blog entry to the picture below. In it, I share my personal story of how God taught me to surrender everything to Him and let go.
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