THE INVITATION TO BUILD: THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST

Welcome to Pomoja Podcasts, a ministry of Life

of Christ International Ministries. Pomoja means

together, and that's exactly what this space

is about. Growing together, learning together,

walking together, one conversation at a time.

I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. And during this

first conversation, I'd like us to explore one

of God's greatest gifts to humanity, marriage.

not simply as a relationship between a man and

a woman, but as a covenant, a covenant established

by God, designed to reflect his heart, and one

of the greatest testimonies the world will ever

witness. At the same time, it has become one

of life's greatest challenges, and I don't think

that's a coincidence. Have you ever stopped and

wondered why? Why has marriage become such a

battlefield? Why do so many couples begin with

hope, only to find themselves struggling a few

years later? Why are families under so much pressure?

Why are husbands and wives constantly being pulled

in different directions? I don't believe the

enemy wastes his energy. Throughout the Bible,

He consistently attacks what heaven values most.

He attacked the promised seed. He attacked worship.

He attacked God's people. He attacked the prophets.

He even tried to destroy the Messiah himself.

So why should we be surprised that he also attacks

marriage? Because marriage is much more than

two people living under the same roof. It is

God's design. It is God's testimony. It is one

of the clearest pictures of Christ and His Church.

And when a Christian marriage reflects God's

heart, it preaches a sermon long before anyone

opens a Bible. Maybe that's why the enemy fears

it so much. This season is an invitation. An

invitation to walk together through a house,

not just any house. a house in the middle of

a forest. Over the next several conversations,

we'll discover its foundation. We'll look through

its windows. We'll walk through its rooms. We'll

stand together when storms come. And by the end

of this journey, my prayer is that you'll never

look at marriage the same way again. Today's

conversation is where it all begins, not with

a wedding. Not with the ceremony, not even with

my marriage. It begins with a story. Actually,

it begins with my father, you know. When I was

preparing to get married, I thought I knew what

I needed. Like most young men, I expected advice.

I thought my father would talk to me about responsibility,

about communication, about finances. Maybe about

being a good husband. Maybe about leading a family.

The kind of conversation every son expects before

marriage. Instead, he told me a story. At the

time, I'll be honest with you. I didn't fully

understand it. I listened. I appreciated it.

But I didn't realize what he had just placed

in my heart. Some lessons are explained. Others

are planted. And just like seeds, they stay hidden

for years until life begins to water them. Looking

back today, almost 20 years later, I realize

my father wasn't simply giving me advice. He

was giving me a way to see marriage. Sometimes,

God uses stories because stories stay with us

longer than instructions. In fact, That's exactly

what Jesus often did. When people expected an

explanation, he gave them a parable. Not because

he wanted to make things more complicated, but

because stories have a way of reaching places

that information never can. I didn't know it

then, but my father's story would become one

of those stories. One that would quietly grow

inside me, year after year, until one day, I

finally understood what he meant. And that's

the story I'd like to share with you today. Because

I believe if it changed the way I see marriage,

it just might change the way you see it too.

Let's begin. So there I was, a young man, deeply

in love. Certain that I had found the woman I

wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Like

every young man preparing for marriage. I knew

there was one conversation I needed to have.

The conversation with my father. I wanted his

blessing. But more than that, I wanted his wisdom.

Because no matter how much you think you know,

there are people who have already walked the

road you're about to travel. And if you're wise,

you'll listen before you begin your journey.

Looking back today, I realize something. One

of the greatest gifts God gives us is the wisdom

of those who walked before us. The Bible says,

stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the

ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and

walk in it. I think we've lost something in our

generation. We celebrate innovation and sometimes

forget the value of wisdom. We admire what is

new, but overlook those who have already lived

what we're trying to build. My father had already

lived through seasons I had never experienced.

He had already faced storms I couldn't yet imagine.

He had already learned lessons. that I hadn't

even discovered I needed. And because of that,

I chose to listen. Can I encourage you with something?

Never underestimate the value of godly counsel,

especially when you're making decisions that

will shape the rest of your life. A career, a

ministry, a friendship, a marriage. Some decisions

are simply too important to make alone. The book

of Proverbs repeats this truth again and again.

There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors,

not just any counselors, godly counselors, people

who love God more than they love being right,

people who care more about your future than your

feelings, people willing to tell you the truth,

even when it isn't what you hope to hear. I thank

God that my father was one of those people. So,

I sat down with him, expecting what every son

expects. Advice, practical wisdom, maybe a checklist,

maybe instructions about being a husband, maybe

lessons about finances, leadership, communication,

responsibility, honestly. I don't remember expecting

anything extraordinary, just a conversation between

a father and his son. But instead, he smiled.

looked at me and began telling me a story. No

instructions, no lecture, just a story. I remember

listening, trying to understand where he was

going, and if I'm honest, I wasn't sure. You

know how parents sometimes tell stories, and

halfway through, you're wondering, where is this

going? That was me. I had no idea that nearly

20 years later, I would still be talking about

that story. Sometimes, God hides life's greatest

lessons inside the simplest conversations. That's

why Jesus spoke in parables, because information

fills the mind. But stories find their way into

the heart, and once a story reaches the heart,

it stays there. Looking back now, I realize my

father wasn't trying to answer my questions.

He was changing the way I would see marriage.

There's a difference. Advice tells you what to

do. Vision changes how you see. And once the

way you see changes, the way you live begins

to change as well. That conversation planted

a seed, a seed I didn't fully understand at the

time. It remained buried, quietly growing through

the joys. through the misunderstandings, through

the victories, through the difficult seasons,

until one day, I looked back and realized my

father had been right all along. And today, I'd

like to invite you into that same conversation

because I believe if you can see what my father

wanted me to see, you'll never look at marriage

the same way again. So, This is what he said.

My father looked at me, smiled, and simply said,

my son, let me tell you a story. He said, imagine

a man, not just any man, a man who has decided

to build a house, but not in the city, not where

people pass by every day, not where neighbors

are only a few steps away. Instead, he chooses

a place deep inside a forest. far away from everything.

A place where the only sounds you hear are the

wind moving through the trees, the birds greeting

the morning, and the quietness that only nature

can give. Imagine walking through that forest.

The deeper you go, the quieter it becomes. The

noise of the world slowly disappears. No traffic,

no crowds, no distractions, just trees. one after

another. Then, after what feels like a long walk,

you finally see it. A beautiful house, standing

alone, peaceful, warm, almost unexpected. You

wonder, who lives here? Why would anyone build

a house so far away from everyone else? As you

get closer, you notice something unusual. The

windows don't open. The door only opens from

the outside. And yet, inside the house, everything

is warm, comfortable, peaceful, safe. My father

stopped talking. He looked at me, as if waiting

for me to understand. I didn't. Not really. So

he continued. He said, my son, marriage is like

that house. I'll never forget those words. At

the time, they sounded beautiful, but I didn't

understand them. Not yet. Maybe you've had moments

like that. Someone says something to you, and

you know it's important. But you don't yet know

why. You write it down. You remember it. You

carry it. And then, years later, life explains

what words could not. That's exactly what happened

to me. For years, that story stayed quietly in

my heart. Then marriage began teaching me. what

my father had already tried to show me. Today,

I understand why he didn't give me a list of

rules, because rules can be forgotten. But a

picture stays with you. Can I tell you something

I've discovered? God often teaches through pictures.

When Jesus wanted to explain faith, he spoke

about seeds. When he wanted to explain the kingdom,

he spoke about vineyards. shepherds, sheep, fishermen,

wedding feasts. Why? Because pictures remain

in our hearts long after explanations fade. My

father gave me a picture, a house, standing quietly

in the middle of a forest. And every time life

tested our marriage, I found myself returning

to that house. The older I became, the more I

understood. The story wasn't really about a house.

It was about covenant. It was about protecting

something precious. It was about understanding

that what God builds must also be guarded. Because

every beautiful home will eventually face weather.

Every marriage will experience seasons. Some

days will feel like spring, others like winter.

Some days... The fire inside the house burns

brightly. Other days, someone has to gather more

wood. That's marriage, not perfection, faithfulness,

not the absence of storms, but the decision to

remain inside the covenant while the storm passes.

And perhaps that's the first lesson my father

wanted me to learn. Marriage isn't built because

life will be easy. Marriage is built. Because

covenant gives two people a place to stand when

life becomes difficult that little house hidden

in the middle of the forest has stayed with me

for nearly 20 years and today I'd like to take

you inside it because every part of that house

has something to teach us and I believe Before

this conversation is over you'll begin to recognize

your own house. As I look back today, I realize

something. My father wasn't simply preparing

me for marriage. He was preparing me for the

journey of becoming a husband. There is a difference.

You can prepare for a wedding in a few months,

but becoming a husband takes years, sometimes

a lifetime. I also realize He didn't choose a

lecture. He chose a story. Because stories have

a way of staying with us, long after words are

forgotten. I carried that story into my marriage.

There were moments when I remembered it, moments

when I questioned it, and moments when I finally

understood it. Not all at once. One season at

a time. One challenge at a time. One lesson at

a time. Then one day, I realized something beautiful.

The house hadn't changed. The story hadn't changed.

I had changed. Marriage had changed me. God had

changed me. And suddenly, what once seemed like

a mystery began to make perfect sense. Perhaps

that's where some of you are today. Maybe there

are things God has spoken over your life that

still don't make sense. Promises, prayers, scriptures,

conversations, seeds that were planted years

ago. Don't be discouraged. If you don't understand

everything today, some revelations can only be

understood after you've walked with God for a

while. God rarely reveals everything at once.

He reveals enough for us to take the next step.

Then He teaches us. As we continue walking with

Him, time doesn't replace the Holy Spirit, but

the Holy Spirit often uses time to reveal what

He has already spoken. So don't rush the process.

Walk with Him, trust Him, and allow Him to unfold

His purpose one season at a time. Next time,

we'll walk back into that house, not simply to

admire it, not even to escape it. But to discover

why my father built every detail of that story

the way he did Because nothing inside that house

was accidental Every detail was pointing to something

far greater than I could have imagined Until

then may the Lord strengthen your faith guide

your home and continue building your house one

day one lesson and one revelation at a time.

Thank you for joining me. Grace and peace. I'll

see you in our next conversation.