The work of rebuilding the Jerusalem temple wall in ancient times was painstaking, dangerous, and probably not much fun. I certainly would not have volunteered to pour mortar and lay brick for the Dung Gate (ancient text from the book of Nehemiah 3:14). To make matters worse, some people did not carry their load, literally or figuratively. One section of city was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work...(Neh. 3:5). And if that were not bad enough, others stood around and mocked the efforts of rebuilding. What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble? (4:2)
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My parents divorced when I was 25. The walls fell down in a world my siblings and I had always seen as invincible. Parent/child relationships took on a new texture for all of us. Wisdom is ours now, though, as children eventually grow up and see their parents through different eyes regardless of marital status. Nonetheless, at the time, that word "issues" began to surface.
Issues are nothing but laundry...just something you have to deal with. You may have to wash and clean only to find that you have to repeat the process, but the good news is that, like a favorite old pair of jeans, issues can fade with frequent washing.
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In 2005, my sisters and I boarded an Amtrak train in Ft. Worth with our dad who absolutely, positively loved his rails. Dad spoke to strangers as he always did, introduced us proudly, and even "arranged" for the three of us to serenade the dining car with a rendition of a favorite song. As we rode the rails with our father through Cleburne, McGregor, and Temple on to our destination in Austin, we listened to those embellished stories and probably rolled our eyes as he started conversations with complete strangers--strangers to us, never to him.
Moments such as this were a part of our rebuilding. My brothers found their own moments to do the same. This brings us back to the story from long ago. In the rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem, Nehemiah wrote of a father who repaired a section with what was probably quite unusual for that time....Shallum repaired the next section with the help of his daughters. (3:12)
We were given the gift of time with our dad.
With this gift, we all realized that there is love even in the midst of the rubble.
With this gift, we all made the choice to rebuild together--with the tools of mercy and grace.
At last, dear Father, rest in peace.
It was your enduring love that helped bring the stones back to life.
WRITER'S NOTE: This particular blog post is referred to as the 2.0 version as it is updated from a previous publishing done in my newsletter written in 2005 called "A New Song."
