By Shawn Smith
Who doesn’t want their home to be their castle, where they can rest from the day’s toils and kick off their shoes and relax?
Carlos PenaVega is no different, but there was a time he admits he was possessive of his “castle” as well as his other trappings of success until God used a house flood to change course.
“I was the guy who would go to Costco. And even though we bought everything in these, you know, big bulk packages, I was not going to share any of this, because I bought that for me,” PenaVega confessed in a Streams Studio video. “I was that guy. I wasn’t mean, but I loved my things.”
It wasn’t until after the BIG TIME RUSH star married actress Alexa PenaVega and moved into their house — one that their realtor advised against — that God began to change his perspective.
“I just kept trying and trying…and I was like, ‘God, I’m buying this house. I want this house,’” the 36-year-old singer recalled. “And ultimately God said, ‘Okay, fine, you can have it. I’m gonna make it happen, but there’s gonna be a lot of consequences with it, and you’re gonna learn a lot.’”
Related: Alexa PenaVega Thinks We All Should Live Out This Biblical Principle
One of those consequences was coming home to flood due to faulty structure of the house.
“I’m finally in my house. I have my big thing to put all my little things in,” PenaVega said. “And I remember coming home one day and the entire house was flooded. I walk into our little theater room, flooded. I walk into my recording studio, water coming in through the base boards.”
In the midst of dealing with the aftermath of the flooding, an opportunity came to host a Bible study, but he was more than reluctant.
“‘No, I’m not bringing people into my house. No way, no way,’” he recalled. “‘They’re gonna get it dirty. What if they touch the walls? What if they break a glass? No, no, no, no, no.’”
He eventually relented.
“Well, now I had this…castle of my own that was falling apart, and I just said…‘Who cares? Let’s do the Bible study…The house is messed up [anyway],’” PenaVega said.
PenaVega says that the faith and the Word of God that meant “everything” to his wife became everything to him too through the Bible study.
“For me, her treasure became my treasure. And we grew so much,” he shared.
“I’ll never forget, Alexa and I were sitting one night. It was like one in the morning, the last person just left…and we looked at each other, and we were exhausted, and we felt so fulfilled because the people that were there like they were actually getting something,” the Missouri native said. “God used this house that I wanted to keep as my little, you know, glass box.”
“He was now using it for other people,” he said. “And for me, that was the moment that I went, dude, none of this is mine, none of it; I got to use it for God. So I had to let go of all my material obsessions.”
Carlos’ testimony is reminiscent of the verse where Jesus talks about storing up heavenly riches in Matthew 6:19-21 that reads:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Alexa recently posted photos of their three living children getting in the holiday spirit early with matching Santa pajamas while on a family cruise.
“No…we don’t celebrate Halloween…what do we do instead? Dress up in our matching christmas pj’s and watch movies and open Pokemon packs,” Alexa posted on Instagram.
…speaking of treasure. Adorable!
Read Next: ‘You Just Want My Attention, Lord’: What God Taught This Actress Through Her Infant Son
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