House

 Certainly! The house you’re referring to is the yellow beachfront home built by Warren and Pam Adams in Gilchrist, Texas. After losing their previous home to Hurricane Rita in 2005, they constructed this new house, which stood 14 feet off the ground on wooden columns. When Hurricane Ike struck in 2008, it devastated most of the roughly 200 homes in Gilchrist. However, the Adams’ yellow house was the only one on the Gulf Coast side that remained standing. Although it survived the storm surge, the interior suffered significant damage, rendering it uninhabitable. Despite the loss of many belongings, the Adams family was grateful that their home endured the hurricane’s wrath. If you’d like to see an aerial shot of the house, you can find it here1. 🏠

Michael Sprague

DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL

Perhaps the most memorable image of Hurricane Ike from September 2008 was the famous yellow house, the only house left standing in a neighborhood of Gilchrist, Texas (see picture). This little peaceful and serene seaside community of 200 homes was known for its colorful houses, sidewalks, beautiful landscaping and retirees. After Ike,  it looked like a bomb exploded. There was nothing left to suggest there was civilization there except for one lone house that stood strong and defied the wind and the watery wrath of the storm. This was one house out of 200.

The owners were Warren and Pamela Adams. Warren was an electrical designer. He added additional fortifications to retrofit the house when the foundation was initially laid and the house was built in anticipation of the hurricanes of life. He hired an engineering company to oversee the contractors. In the end, it was shocking to see only one house standing, but the backstory of the faithfulness of the builder shines light on the ability to stand. 

Such is the story of our lives. Jesus told the famous story of two men who built homes or should I say built their lives. Outwardly, both looked strong but it wasn’t until the storm came that the individual foundations were revealed. The exhortation from this story in the Sermon on the Mount was to build our homes/our lives upon the rock and not sinking sand. Jesus is that Rock.

All our homes/lives will have cracks and scars from the storms, struggles, and seasons of life. Yet, we will stay intact if built on Jesus, our firm foundation. As I like to say, we may shake upon the Rock, but the Rock will never shake under us. 

Stay steady today in the storm my friends. God is faithful. He started a good work in you and will finish that work. He is able. He is a rescuer … sustainer … deliverer … keeper. Get to know who God is and who He says you are. Get to know His voice and be careful of the counterfeits of the enemy. Be less impressed with the famous and more impressed with the faithful. Abide in Jesus and don’t be afraid to speak his name and his deeds of faithfulness to you.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25