From my early years I built the wall. Brick by brick. The cement that stuck them together was ruthless and would not give in to either push or shove. Each brick, each past experience that I’ve held too tightly, has helped build the wall.
I didn’t mean to build the wall, it was an accident I never saw coming. The reason it built up was because of my fear to be vulnerable and my inability to forgive. Each experience would add another brick to my life and they were accumulating fast.
Then came the pouring of the cement, the cement that would not give up and never gave in. As it poured out I started to believe that these bricks were an unchangeable part of me that I was unable to remove. The bricks stayed put.
Layer after layer I built the wall, each layer stuck firmly to the previous. When I looked up from my laborious work, I was surprised to see a smiling face looking at me. The smile was not one of happiness and joy, it was one of love and concern. He knew it was a bad move and urged and begged me to stop. It was easier my way, though, and I did not discontinue my work.
Although my work did not stop, I kept my eyes on the ever-saddening face, as the wide smile thinned and eventually was no more. His smile no longer mattered anyway, for the wall I was building had, somehow, without my consent, been built so high his smile was no longer visible. All I saw was a worried brow and two shiny eyes with tears falling from them.
One thing I’d somehow forgotten in the midst of my wall building was, all the people I’d left on the other side. Looking up from my work I saw that I had no one on my side of the wall, and that’s when the realisation of my loneliness hit me. Because of my focus on the wall I was building, the wall came up between myself and the ones I love.
In the midst of my despair and loneliness, I heard a voice; deep, rumbling. It shook the wall and made me shudder and shake. I was paralysed.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
In my paralysed state I found my voice and made a loud outcry. With everything I had and with my whole being, I screamed. It was a painful scream that shook the very core of my being. That was the moment when the mighty hand broke through the wall and shattered my loneliness.
He picked me up and whispered,
“I will build you up again, and you will be rebuilt.”