WHEN THE FIRST DOMINO FALLS
Faith determines what happens next.
A long line of dominoes standing in perfect order — patient, still, waiting. The first one hasn’t moved yet.
Sometimes life works this way.
One small moment. One quiet decision. And suddenly the dominoes begin to fall.
The real question is never if. It’s what was built before the first one tips.
DEDICATION
To Rocky Fleming and the journey we walked together — and to the brothers who came alongside me, carrying the torch, lighting the flame, and fanning the pursuit of knowing Jesus more deeply.
To Marty — God’s gift to me — with whom I remain yoked in marriage and in spirit, walking side by side through every season.
To the Monarch team — the twelve men who showed up at my home this week, working through long days to get things back on track. Their professionalism, patience, and steady service did not go unnoticed.
And to you, the reader — that you may pause long enough to consider what domino might be standing first in your life.
SCRIPTURE
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)
THE HOOK
Have you ever played with dominoes as a kid?
Long before I knew how to play the game properly, I didn’t care about rules or points.
I stacked them into long winding paths across the floor —
around corners, over books, across chairs.
The more dominoes I had, the better.
Because the real joy wasn’t in playing the game.
It was in the building.
Carefully lining them up.
Spacing them just right.
Making tiny adjustments so the motion would carry through.
Then came the moment.
You’d tip the first one.
And suddenly everything moved.
One striking the next.
Then the next.
Then the next.
A cascading motion that was strangely satisfying to watch.
Hours of setup.
Gone in seconds.
Unless, of course, you decided to start all over again.
THE STORY
Life works a lot like that.
Sometimes the dominoes sit quietly for years.
Then suddenly something tips.
Last week I woke up in the middle of the night sweating.
For a moment my mind flashed back to a season when symptoms like that meant heart trouble for me.
Morning came and Marty laughed.
“It was hot in here last night.”
We checked the thermostat.
Seventy-nine degrees.
That explained it.
Or so we thought.
I turned on the air conditioning.
Nothing.
Error code.
The technician shook his head.
The compressor had overheated.
When it failed, it burned through the control boards and melted much of the inside of the system.
Repairing it would be expensive.
Replacing it made more sense.
The unit was eleven years old.
The warranty ended at ten.
Isn’t that about how life works?
The second unit threw the same error code.
Same age.
Same failure.
Almost like watching dominoes begin to fall.
THE MOMENT
For just a moment I had the thought most people would have.
Well… here we go.
Two more units still sitting there.
When they go — at least now I know how much they’re going to cost.
And then something unexpected settled in.
I found myself at peace about it.
Faith is not something you build in the middle of a crisis.
It is something you build long before the first domino ever moves.
THE TURN
Somewhere along the way a thought crossed my mind that made me smile.
They won’t have air conditioning in heaven.
Open air.
Windows open.
Perfect temperature.
Which made the moment feel a little smaller than it first appeared.
Later that day I texted my sister.
I told her the unexpected had happened.
She replied almost immediately.
“That happens to me all the time.”
I wrote back,
“I’m about ready to downsize to a barn.”
A minute later she texted again.
“I just sent you a picture of a hut.”
Then she added,
“Let’s make a plan. I’m ready.”
We both laughed.
Because sometimes when life starts tipping dominoes over —
the best thing you can do is step back and remember something simple.
You don’t actually need as much as you think you do.
THE DRIFT
There is a voice that rises when the dominoes start falling.
Why is this happening now?
I can’t afford this.
What’s going to go wrong next?
That voice sounds like reason.
It isn’t.
Reason assesses.
This voice catastrophizes.
There is a kind of anxiety that looks like planning on the outside —
but is just fear doing math in the dark.
Calculating worst cases.
Projecting losses.
Rehearsing outcomes that haven’t happened yet.
That voice will keep a person spiraling —
long after the moment itself has passed.
I know what that spiral feels like.
I’ve been in it.
But somewhere in the middle of an error code and a melted compressor —
I remembered who was actually in charge of the thermostat.
And it wasn’t me.
I know. Because I calculated it. For years.
THE REFLECTION
Peace doesn’t come from how many systems in our lives are running smoothly.
It comes from knowing who governs your life when they don’t.
Dominoes fall in every life.
The question is never if.
The real question is what will be there when they do.
Faith works much like a muscle.
If it isn’t strengthened daily —
if it isn’t exercised in the quiet moments —
then when pressure comes, there may be very little to draw from.
Build the faith before the crisis.
Strengthen the muscle before the weight arrives.
Because when the first domino tips —
and it will —
what you have built in the quiet will be the only thing standing.
WALKAWAY LINE
Peace doesn’t come from controlling the dominoes — it comes from knowing the One who stands beyond them.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
When the first domino tips — what will be there to catch the rest?
MY PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
When the unexpected moments of life begin to fall like dominoes, steady our hearts.
Teach us to build our faith long before pressure arrives.
Help us anchor our lives in You —
so that when circumstances move, our peace remains.
Let our first response always be trust.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
ABOUT G~
G~ writes from lived experience — exploring identity, authority, and time through the lens of faith, trial, leadership, and surrender. His reflections are not meant to condemn or hype, but to steady. Rooted in covenant, forged through adversity, and anchored under the authority of Jesus Christ, his work invites readers to examine who governs their lives — and to live intentionally under truth.
If what you’ve read resonates with your journey, feel free to reach out.
G~