The Enemy

I want to share something that my husband wrote about 2 years ago.  Today is our 16th wedding anniversary.  Thank you for building our house on the Rock.  The boy and I could not have a better husband and father to take care of us!

(And if you're reading this and you don't know me, my husband's name is, ironically, Rocky....)

The Enemy walks toward the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea.  As he looks down he takes note of every detail.  He wants to affix this moment in his memory forever. He has planned this moment for years.

 He looks below at the small home that contains the source of his contempt.  Finally he will gain the victory he has sought.   He feels the breeze pick up and he pulls the hood back from his head so he can take in the coming storm with all of his senses.  He smells the storm on the air now and he knows it will not be long. 

A knowing smile creeps onto his visage as he looks down once again.  He knows that there is no way for the family below to predict the kind of storm he has set in motion.  He smiles wider as he recalls all the preparation for this one event.  Each step along the way was a deception to build the coming storm. 

The wind is biting now and cold.  The first few raindrops begin to sting his cheeks as he lifts his head to the sky in victory. He has seen this play out before. The storm will wreck the home below.  The waves will claim their prize, scatter those within, and the wreckage of the home will float out to sea.  The family will be destroyed. 

The rain is falling hard now and he has to concentrate to see the home below.  He knows the home has only minutes before it is claimed by the storm.  The wind is assaulting the beach and the cliff but the real danger is building.  The waves are crashing on shore now and he knows they will soon reach the home. He looks out to the sea and notes the swelling waves.  

With each flash of lightning he can make out the increasing danger. The waves are now crashing against the base of the home.   The Enemy smiles more broadly now.  This is his favorite part.  For he craves most not the power that is being displayed but the destruction that it will bring. 

He recalls the countless storms he has set in motion and the destruction they have caused.  He waits to hear the creaking and cracking sound that announces that the sea has claimed the home. He can see now with each lightning flash the intensifying waves and then he spots the one, the wave that will engulf the home completely.  He watches it violently come ashore and crash over the home.  He notes with some pride that this storm is proving to be more destructive than most.  He leans over the cliff and listens intently for the sound of the home being crushed. 

As the wave breaks over the home his smile falters.   He realizes that he heard no sounds of destruction.  By the next lightning flash he can see why.  The home is still standing! 

He thinks to himself that this storm will soon claim this home.  The very beach is being assaulted by the ocean.  He can see the sand being torn from the beach by the violence of this storm.   Another wave crashes over the home.  There is still no damage. 

His smile is gone now. It has been replaced by a look of puzzlement and a slight hint of fear.  He knows the storm is exceptionally violent.  He takes a closer look as a third and fourth wave crash over the home totally engulfing it in the angry sea. As the water resides and the sky is lit by a brilliant flash he sees his failure.  The storm has washed away the sand and revealed solid rock!  

As he watches the storm rage he knows that he has failed.  For all of his preparation and cunning he failed to realize that the home was built upon the rock. The rage the enemy feels is growing.  With his anger and hatred also comes an empty feeling of impotence.  He knows that once a home is build upon the rock it will draw strength and power from the rock.  The home can break any storm because the rock can break any storm. 

The storm is fading now, as all storms must.  The enemy looks to the east and notes the rising sun.  He quickly pulls his rain soaked hood over his head to protect him from the light.   As the first rays of light shine on the home on the rock the enemy retreats.  He has been defeated and he knows it is so.