Will my house stand?

Recently, it dawned on me the seriousness of the matter: that I should consider my life as a house being built. I could choose any type of brick to build it—gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw. Some are costly, heavy, and take effort to procure and build, while others are easily available, not too heavy, and easy to handle. But I am expected to choose the best.

I am expected to keep building it until the last day of my life, when I will be given the house to occupy. I knew this earlier, but I never took it seriously. 

 

Looking back, in some seasons, I had money, time, and resources to choose the best material. In other seasons, I had to use whatever was quick and easy because I did not have the time, money, or resources to go for the best.

 

However, I did not know that before I am given the house back to occupy, there will be a structural stability check by a team of civil engineers. The tool they will use is fire and storm, the storm will check the foundation, and the fire will test the durability of the materials used.

There was a building manual that had all these instructions, but I did not read it in detail. It says, “Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually, there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.”

 

In another section, it says, "But if you just use what I instructed you and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards," as if to say that you should have read all the instructions before you start building.

I wonder if it is too late. If a fire and storm hit today, what would remain, I wonder? Can I pull down everything and rebuild again? Or go back and change some of the materials? But the problem is, I have put concrete and plaster and built it so well that it will disturb the whole structure.

I suppose all I can do is look out for the best materials from now onwards. I have read about a Master Architect and builder who can renew and change what was already done poorly. Maybe that is the answer. I will ask the Master Architect to come and do something with the sections I built with non-durable materials and strengthen the foundations too. It might need destroying some of what I have built in the past, but there may not be any other way. 

Also, in that process, take care of the white ants  that have started attacking already.