Sand Castles

Today, I have chosen to dust off an old poem I wrote when my children were small. We live in a beach community and, consequently, my kids used to spend a great deal of time on the beach. One day I was watching them build sand castles and this poem happened. A cute little poem that captured the essence of a childish moment. However, when I came across it the other day I was suddenly stuck the implications to our adult lives. We grownups love to build houses and create comfortable lives around ourselves over the years. But as Christians, we know that the things of this world are, at best, temporary. Oh, they may last for years, even decades. Yet, in the end the waves of time and the tides of eternity will do their work and whatever we build will be finally washed away. God has so much more in store for us. Again and again, however, we find ourselves settling for sand castles. We must be careful what we are building, who we are building it for ... and if God will be honored by our actions.

Sand Castles
Upon the beach, at the water's edge
We build our castles there
Where imaginary knights of old
Stand guard o'er ladies fair
There, beneath the summer sun
For endless hours we'd play
Constructing kingdoms grand and fine
Which soon would wash away
By Frank Carpenter ©