walls

Walls

Walls. Why walls?  Support, protection, set boundaries, privacy, safety, beautify, restrain, imprison. We need walls. We all have walls in our lives; some keep us safe; some provide definition; others, keep us from accomplishing our goals. Some walls are physical, solid, immovable (unless you have an M1 Abrams or a Paramount Marauder). Some are corporate, giving rise to good-‘ol-boy clubs and enigmatic alliances. Most walls are personal— built to keep others out; built to protect, to hide, to maintain one’s personal identity and privacy.

At multiple times during our life-span we will confront many walls that are seemingly insurmountable. Many of us will be stopped dead; for whatever reason we will not conquer that wall. We will learn to dwell, contentedly, next to it. At first we might try to climb over it or knock it down; but after a while we will grow comfortable and simply let things stay the same. Worse still, others will never approach their walls at all. They will rise to their level of competence in a field, a relationship, a skill, and never consider that there might be something better, more fulfilling, on the other side of that wall.

There are leadership consultants, counselors, and even friends who tell us to not consider these walls as obstacles, but rather as challenges. Describe it how you will, the wall remains. How will you approach it? Will you approach it at all? If it is a wall of protection it might not be wise to knock it down. If otherwise, be it professional, relational, emotional or mental, you will need to overcome it, push past it, to fulfill God’s design on your life. If you do not you will never be fulfill your quest for purpose; you’ll merely take what comes your way.

We need walls— to guard us, provide us shelter, and to set our ethical, moral boundaries. But certain walls may be more detrimental than necessary. If your walls are private, inner, secret, they may not provide you as much protection as you imagine: they may actually be holding you captive to your own insecurities and unstated fears. God never intends for any of us to live in fear and insecurity. If you need help breaking-out, overcoming, whatever…, find professional, and/or spiritual help. Too many of our walls are in fact more than merely psychological/emotional ones; they have a spiritual dynamic to them as well.

So, start climbing, scaling, drilling, pounding, tunneling, and shelling those walls that hold you back— one hammer-chisel at a time. Trust a friend, and trust in the God who made you, to supply you with the strength you will need for the task. You don’t have to be in this alone.

Have a nice week,

Gary