Hurricane Matthew hit back in October. Recently I spoke to a friend whose home just began to leak. There is no doubt that the cause is damage done by the wind of that storm. A shingle here and there, as well as the trim work around the roof were pulled away during the storm. But it took a while before water actually began to get into the house.

The damage was done almost four months ago, but it took a while to see it.

That is such a metaphor for how life works. The group Casting Crowns sings a song entitled, "Slow Fade." Some of the words include, "It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away. It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray. Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid, when you give yourself away. People never crumble in a day. It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade."

The message is that we pull away from God just a little bit at a time, but over time we find ourselves far away from him.

It can happen in marriage. It’s the little things that go almost unnoticed, but over time they create barriers between husband and wife. A forgotten birthday here, a harsh word there, a failure to ask forgiveness, and soon there is bitterness where there once was passion and love.

In so many areas of life there is the need for attention to detail; building a house, filing your income taxes (Don’t do that and you might receive a call you don’t want to get), preparing for an athletic event, writing a report.

May I encourage you to do the little things in your spiritual journey with the Lord? Read your Bible. Pray every day. Attend worship. Learn to forgive others. Those are the things that help us to build character. They help us to be more Christ-like. Don’t allow the storms from last year to destroy your home today.