I spent my childhood on a farm in a quaint town in central North Dakota. In our family, there
were only girls and as a result, each of us shouldered the responsibility of mastering various
farm tasks traditionally considered “boys’ jobs” in other families. Despite the conventional
gender roles, out of necessity, our family required adapting and us girls became adept at doing
many of these “boys’ jobs.”

One such job that we had the opportunity to do, which I hesitate to label as a true opportunity,
was picking rocks. This responsibility involved traversing the field to collect rocks that posed a
threat to the farm machinery due to their size. It proved to be a demanding job, leaving us dirty
and utterly exhausted by day’s end. Some rocks were too large for manual handling, prompting
my father to employ a machine known as a “rock picker.” However, even with this equipment,
certain rocks remained immovable, and my father would declare, “that one needs to stay; it’s
not movable.” To this day, many of these rocks still occupy the same spots, forcing the farmer
to work around them.

This process mirrors the way we should construct our faith- on solid, immovable ground. In
Matthew 7: 24-27, Jesus imparts this wisdom: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and
does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been
founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will
be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell- and great was the fall of it (ESV).”
I encourage you to construct your faith wisely, insuring it is immovable and robust. This world
will bring numerous storms and attempts to displace you, but God remains faithful. Regardless
of the challenges you face, when you are committed to Him and place your faith and trust in
Him, He will stand with you through it all.