Building the Wall

Many of my friends and acquaintances are spending their summers in distant lands, working with people from different cultures, entirely different languages, and completely different religions. Uganda, India, Thailand, Central African Republic, Ireland, Armenia, Spain, France, Argentina.... the list goes on. Some are working with missionaries, some are studying abroad, and some are just plain living there.

Sometimes I want to be a part of this... sometimes I want the thrill of going to a country and spending time with the people, learning what it's like to do missions there... spreading Christ's love to people who have no idea who he was. Learning languages. Understanding cultures. But it is terrifying. There are risks. There are dangers.

I have had the incredible blessing of being able to grow up in a cross cultural home, learning two languages from birth, and traveling to see family on the other side of the world. The more cultures I experience, the more fascinated I am, the more I want to reach out and be a part of this.

This summer, however, I'm learning what it's like to be behind the scenes. And even if the thrill seems to be lacking, I'm learning what it's like to stand guard while others build the wall. It's no easy job what so many of my friends and classmates are doing.... they face discouragement, sickness, cruelty, and hardened people, pretty much daily. In Nehemiah, a story of perseverance, strength, and opposition is recounted as the Jews went back to their ruined capital city after it had been sacked by the Babylonians. Their purpose was to rebuild the city wall: to keep further intruders out and to keep themselves separate from all of the outside, destructive influences. While they were working to accomplish this task, however, opposition arose from people who didn't want them back in their old land. These people plotted to attack Nehemiah and his men as they were rebuilding the wall. However, Nehemiah got wind of this, and he stationed some people with weapons to guard those who were doing the actual building of the wall. If all the focus had been on the fighting, the opposition would have successfully kept the building of the wall from progressing. But, if Nehemiah and the men continued building the wall, ignoring the efforts of the opposition, chances are they would have been killed as they worked... and again the building would have been stopped.

So. How does a random story that took place thousands of years ago have anything to do with today? 

Well... I'm learning that in a way, in this season of life, I am positioned not as a builder, but as a warrior (which is a funny thought, considering I hate violence...) I am at my post... praying for those who are actually doing the work. Without them, the work would not be done. Without me, and all the other people praying... the work could not be done. It's a beautiful thing to see that I can play a part in this amazing work, even if I'm not overseas, learning languages, and exploring cultures. And my part is just as important as those who are...

Neh. 4:16 -- From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half of my men were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor.