At one time I looked into building some townhouse apartments. I looked around for a suitable place and found a nice location that looked like it would be a desirable place for such a project. The land was level and would not take a lot of site preparation, it looked as though there would be natural drainage for the storm water and all of the utilities were available a short distance away.

It looked as though I had found the perfect spot but upon further investigation I found something that could not be seen.

Years earlier this property had been used as a dumping site. Because of the trash and debris, the soil would not hold a foundation. The foundation would crack and fall because the material beneath it would decay and leave a void which could not support it. When the foundation gives away, anything built on it will fall. If I was to build in such a place, all of my efforts would have been in vain.

As I look back in retrospect on my life, I can now see that there were times in my life that I built on things that would not hold the foundation of my efforts. When I did this, those things caved in and fell at my feet in ruin.

I had invested and worked at it but it had no chance of lasting because of the voids beneath the surface.

Is there any place that we can go to find what is beneath the surface of our lives? Are there examples we could learn from that will keep us from building our life on the wrong values? Can our efforts be blessed and not fall at our feet in ruin?

These and other life questions will be addressed Sunday morning as “The Gathering Place Family” meets in the Washington High School Gymnasium at 10 a.m. for our Pre-Service Connection where we enjoy coffee, juice and donuts. Our Worship Service and Children’s Church then begins at 10:30 a.m. Come at 7 p.m. and be part of our Wednesday night Bible Study and Children’s Ministry on the third floor above Trends at 120 West Court St. in Washington C.H.