“Then the veil of the temple was torn in two

 from top to bottom” Mark 15:38

© Karen Murphy Photography, 2014

FIVE FEET TALL

It was five feet tall
and totally square
but in the center
it was not bare.
Massively strong
and yet, so weak
it held up tightly
then crumbled away.
No one saw through it
all, except one,
the one that was inside it
she was the only one.
Who knew all about this
‘cause she built the square
all around her soul.
A wall to protect her
from stones thrown
a way to feel secure
to be someone complete
to find hold of relief.
So she made it
five feet tall
and totally square
so that her whole being
could fit in there.

~Marcell Warner Bridges
(Originally penned under Marcie Warner)
©5, August 1991

Google image

Walls are made for keeping things in and keeping them out. Some are made of stone, some of brick, and some of wood. Most of the time these walls are made to protect and to keep us safe.

There are also walls that should be torn down. Walls that keep us from opening up to others like in the poem above.

I was 19 years young. I was hurting and sad and mad. But I didn’t want to tell anyone. I just wanted to sit in my room, be by myself and keep the world out. Surely this would make me feel better. Surely this would keep me from being hurt anymore than I already was. But it also kept me from giving or receiving love.

We tape up a box around our hearts. We strive to keep everyone from knowing who we are. Don’t let anyone get close.

Including God.

God – The One Who created us. The One Who breathes life into us. The One Who gave His One and Only Son to be our sacrifice.

And He beckons us:

Come and listen. How do we listen when we’ve built a wall between ourselves and God? How do we listen to obey His voice when we’ve hardened our hearts? We don’t. We can’t.

It’s time to tear down the walls. Open our hearts, our minds, our eyes and lives to The One who has saved us and The One who wants to commune with us because He loves us. The One who ripped the veil of the temple in two so we could come boldly to Him. With anything. Everything. Our WHOLE lives.

It’s time to quit shutting Him out and starting living a life worthy of our Christian walk.

It’s time to stomp the box to pieces. Crush it under our feet and let God in. Stop running from God. Stop running in fear.

© Heart Thoughts, Marcie Bridges, 2014