A SOLID FOUNDATION

I have spent a lot of time lately rolling finish grade gravel with my roller packer (see picture of packer in last post). Finish grade gravel is the top surface where vehicles will drive so it has to be solid. I have encountered certain areas in my rolling adventures where my roller packer sinks down below the surrounding grade leaving a deep rut the width of the roller. When I try to roll out the rut by packing the surrounding grade a new rut forms. No matter how much I roller pack this area I can never get a hard even surface. When I try to eliminate one rut, a new one develops. I hope you get the picture.

What is the problem here? Is it the quality of the gravel in this area? NO. Is it the thickness of the gravel that causes these distortions? NO. The problem is that the clay under the gravel in these soft areas is wet and soft. No matter how hard the gravel is packed it will never provide a solid surface until the clay foundation below it dries to a hard pack.

We spent a great deal of time and effort achieving a dry hard clay base before we put gravel on it. This area is full of Muskeg which is a purple watery muck. To get a solid base the Muskeg must be dug out to a hard clay surface and then the hole filled with clay which must be allowed to dry hard before covering with more clay or gravel. In some places the Muskeg is quite deep. A hard surface is especially important since we are building an airstrip for planes to land. No soft patches allowed. A solid foundation is required to provide a solid surface. Today I rolled a short section of the airstrip to prepare it for final gravel and the whole area was solid as a rock. I know there will not be any soft spots when the gravel is applied and rolled.

Muskeg

I have been thinking about the need for a solid foundation all this week. Working with an unstable foundation is frustrating work. In the same way those without a solid foundation in Christ as their Savior and Christ as their life have no solid hope for eternity. My foundation is not in the fact that I know Jesus Christ as my Savior but in the fact that God knows that I belong to Him in Christ. "The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal. 'The Lord knows those who are His'" (2 Timothy 2.19). That is a solid foundation to rest an eternal destiny on. No soft spots here.

If we get the foundation solid that which is built upon it has the possibility of being solid as well. We have responsibility in this area of building on the solid foundation of Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 3.10-15). Make sure your foundation is solid and then carefully build on Jesus Christ in you.