Opinion Column
Why would we build our house in the dunes?
Anna Heydon recalls the coastal erosion in the autumn storms which caused some properties along the Norfolk coastline to be lost to the sea, and reminds us of a lesson from the gospels.
It is reasonable to expect that a home should be a place of security, safety, and permanence. When I leave my home, I can be fairly certain that it will be there as a welcoming place when I return. Sadly this isn’t the case for everyone: domestic abuse, insecure housing, and persecution are just some of the reasons why for some people home isn’t a place of shelter and protection.
I read recently that another foot of the coastline at Hemsby has been lost. In total, 25 homes in the village have been lost over the past 11 years due to coastal erosion. Our hearts surely go out to the people who have lost homes, and those just waiting anxiously to see when that time may come.
Reading the article about Hemsby reminded me of the story Jesus told in the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash”.
Jesus’ story is not about people who find themselves in the terrible, unforeseen situation of living in houses which were, unfortunately, built along a coastline now succumbing to erosion. The point of the comparison in this story is to provide us with a reminder about how we build our lives.
We are each in a position to consciously choose what we build our lives on, knowing the consequences. Jesus tells us that the only truly safe and secure way to build our lives is on Him and His teachings. It is only when we build on these that we know that our lives are on solid foundations which won’t crumble when our circumstances change.
So, when we hear about those whose homes are unstable or unsafe in any way we can pray for them. And we can also pray for ourselves, that we would choose to build our lives on the solid ground of Jesus.
The image of a house built on sand dunes is by Peggychoucair from Pixabay
This article first appeared in Network Yarmouth.
Anna Heydon is a content editor for Network Norfolk and Development Worker for Imagine Norfolk Together in Great Yarmouth, a joint venture between the Diocese of Norwich and the Church Urban Fund, a national organisation set up by the Church of England to combat unmet needs in communities.
Visit: Imagine Norfolk Together
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