A Place of Remembrance: Inspirations from Nehemiah

This is a blog post that I have had a great deal of difficulty approaching. A few weeks ago, I had agreed to write for the blog. I offered to write it not because I was compelled to share anything of great value or importance and not because I had a burning sense that the Spirit wanted to use me in order to relay some lofty revelation that I could no longer contain.  It was more out of a sense of obedience. You see, I’ve had this increasing sense (if not full-blown conviction) that I have become guilty of shirking my responsibility to the blog and it was time for me to step up and produce. Therefore, I have determined, to allow this act of obedience to be redeemed by turning it from an apathetic gesture of obligation into a sacrificial act of worship. One that seeks to give full glory to God even in the face of struggle, even when I don’t feel like it.
 
    So this morning I set myself up on my back patio that rests along my garden wall and began to pray. Those prayers began to turn and wander into a place of remembrance. One, that recalls a place and time that I would not consider to be a place that holds any particular degree of fondness for me, but of one that reminds me of the Lord’s faithfulness and his redemptive plan even when I can’t see beyond the rubble. That is where my praises begin.

    Beauty from ashes is what comes to mind as I sit here taking in the lush greenery of the garden scape; remembering a time when it was nothing more than a heap of limestone rocks piled one on top of another; an issue of real shame and contention for me. A wall that was constructed under our limited supervision, because we were in the midst of across country move, while our soon to be neighbors stood by scoffing at our seemingly indiscriminate purchase. In reality, we had been given no other choice but to trust the builder, despite our better instincts. We were locked into the deal with no way out, and the house on the hill with all it’s evident problems made for great entertainment in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. I was ashamed and lost my self-confidence on the very day of our arrival.

     But, then I was reminded of a different Builder, one who is not subject to human weakness, one who is no respecter of persons, One who is not mocked. The very One, who commissioned Nehemiah amidst all his enemies, to rebuild the wall surrounding Jerusalem with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. Now my circumstances dictated that I take up a garden trowel in one hand and the sword of the Spirit of the word of God in the other, in order to detract from the enemies who engaged me, from both outside of my confines and within. I would like to say, that this was the end of the struggle for me and mine but it wasn’t. There have been many challenges posed for us, in our life on the sunny side of the street that hasn’t always been so sunny. But there is a testimony of God’s faithfulness, right there in my backyard that reminds me at the end of each winter thaw of how He strengthened my hands when I thought my hands were too weak; when I thought the task would never be completed. So, I am reminded that even if I am kept silent, these stones will cry out (Luke 19:40) - Great is thy Faithfulness- to Him be the Glory for Ever and Ever!