Chris and I live in a newer area of the metroplex. Our apartments were built only a couple of years ago, and they are still building strip malls all around us. Everything has that new feel with the cooler brick and rock work.
If you’re coming from Wylie towards Sachse, there is a trailer park area on the south side of the road. Judging on looks alone, it appears to have been there for a lot longer than its newer surroundings. But the thing is, you can’t really look into the trailer park anymore. They built a wall around it.
The wall, of course, is fancy: large neutral stones with dark brown faux-finish textures. It looks like a wall that would be surrounding an expensive subdivision rather than fifty double-wides. And to be honest, I think the reason they built that wall was to eliminate the great american eye sore of a trailer park, and the low-status symbol stigma that it brings.
Today as I drove by, I realized how much this trailer park wall symbolizes my life at times. For the most part, I walk a pretty straight line and things are well kept. But then I have my trailer park. And it’s not that trailer parks are bad or ugly, people just perceive them as being bad and ugly.
Naturally, I want to put up a big, fancy wall to not let people see into my trailer park. Not only are my “skeletons” viewed as something to be ashamed of, but by putting up the wall, I am proving that false judgement correct by acting like I have something to be ashamed of.
The truth is we all have our sins. Whether it’s gossip, lust, anger, envy, materialism or pride, we all have them and no struggle outweighs another on the scale of shame. Instead of putting up our brick walls to hide them, maybe we should put out a welcome mat. As we each open up just a little bit by inviting others to see our not-so-perfect lives, others will follow suit and we can then truly begin to love our neighbors, regardless of where their home sits.
*What are some steps you can take to start taking the wall down around
your trailer park?
Yup. Mine right now is unforgiveness. I can’t seem to figure it out because our hearts are broken. Please pray for me, and that I can soon put my welcome mat out for all to see, because right now it says…”guarded”….Not just saying that….I am for reals asking for prayers.
i don’t know. i don’t think i’m ready for that challenge!
wow. anne, wow!
When I go to my trailer park, my self control crumbles. Sometimes I need something the size of an RV to pull me out. Prayer and fasting really help. Where are those darn RV keys?
At this point in my life, and my struggle with sin, all I can offer is Honesty. If you can honestly expose those little dark compartments in our lifes that we try to keep hidden to the light, darkness must flee. Find people that you trust and spill your guts.
1 John 1:6-8
6If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
A great first step for me is to seek forgiveness from my Lord and commit to regular fellowship with a body of believers. Part of this fellowship is to have someone with whom I can be real with…sharing personal failures, sins etc. I try to live my life as an open book but also discern where, to whom, and when to share inner struggles. Scripture tells us to confess our sins to one another meaning this should be done with other brothers and sisters in fellowship and not the world at large. Even our act of repentence should be done with integrity.
my brick wall is my shield of denial. i deny that there are problems in my work life and personal life. i put on a happy face like nothing is wrong. i decorate my wall with nice words and by doing what i am told. behind the wall is a bitter, scared and insecure girl just trying to figure out what real life is.
You know, I put up puesdo brick walls and ask an “accountability partner” to help me scale them. In times when I can be totally honest with myself, I recognise that this is garbage. I believe Jesus wants to knock down all walls. For me, I need to have the trust in Jesus that He loves me, and will not quit just because I continue to sin. So I guess my real brick wall is distrust.
Great thoughts. To counter those challenge…is it possible to be “too authentic” before we are ready?…if that makes any sense!
I used to not think so. Now, I think that’s one reason God is God…so that we can be more real with Him than anyone else, find His acceptance and healing (and that of those we deeply trust)…then move out from a more confident position from there. I’m thinking that for many, in many areas…just ripping down the wall could expose us before we are healed and useful?
Walls. Scabs. Scars. Healthy boundaries. Significant to me to identify what type of barrier I am dealing with, why it’s there, why function it serves, and what my plan is for it.
1. Adult child of divorce. Touchy. Let me talk, but let’s don’t “talk about it”. Right now, God’s moving me into ministry with it whether I feel ready or not. Been eight years. It’s time. I still don’t like it, don’t feel like I have answers, don’t want to…but it’s time.
2. Personal Failure. I don’t think I am supposed to put out a “welcome mat” really in every area, but I’m willing to be authentic if I see someone struggling in the same areas. We don’t have to advertise failures or keep them on the surface necessarily….but we’re expected to use them responsibly to minister as much as we can, when we can, and in that, we find some redemptive value.
All I can think of at the moment, and that’s enough!
I have never transition well, but of course I am not ashamed…so go here, http://kristiapplesauce.wordpress.com/ and
check out my new pad. No silly, it isn’t type. Love you!
Great post and great analogy. So, are you saying you wish to destroy the “trailer park” in your life or just expose it? To explore the analogy further I can say this. It’s not my goal to eradicate the trailer park from my life or town. Rather, I would like to redeem them. The things in my life that I would like to build a wall around are usually geniune/natural needs, urges, desires, thoughts, etc. However, they’ve been contorted by sin, selfishness and the like. At the very least I’m going to be honest about them and expose them for what they are.
It’s funny because we have the exact same scenario in our town, they put up this really nice wall around a local trailer park. It was actually there before we moved here so for the longest time I didn’t even know it was there until one day while I was biking and got a better look at the place. Weird.
Phil
Yes, the banner is awesome…..
SOMEONE should find the gal that made it and give her a big compliment. ;)
Redemption…I liked Phil’s comment. Good one.