building a life

For this reflection, you might want to gather a few Lego or Duplo bricks or something similar, or find five stones

We have a wall that runs around our garden. It’s quite tall but just one brick wide. It has a tendency to develop cracks, and we have a fear that one day it might fall on the people who go down the little alley way, or gather there sometimes for some recreational smoking…

On Saturday I finally got round to checking it, and I discovered that some of the cap stones were very loose and there were indeed new cracks. So I had to do some urgent mortaring and repointing

It made me think about the way we build our lives. What are the big blocks for us? How are they connected? At Monday’s Cake and Chat we reflected on this. We chose five Lego bricks to represent five of the most significant parts of our lives. Some things were more obvious – friends, family, uni work. And there were others – imagination, silence, nature, the ongoing effects of childhood experiences…

Using your Lego, or stones, or in your imagination, have a think about what your five significant bricks would be. Take your time… Is there one which is more important – or less important? Is the importance changing? Is there one which feels foundational? Are they all connected, or is there one which is detached from the others?

I have discovered that looking after my wall is an ongoing project. I will have to keep on checking it for cracks. And if I find any I will have to rake out the old mortar and repoint it. Great joy!

We know that this sort of ongoing maintenance is important for our relationships, as I reminded the couple I married on Sunday. Maybe we can also pay some attention to the building of our lives… looking to see if there are new stresses or cracks, if anything is going out of true, or becoming detached from everything else. Is there one part that has been neglected, or another part has become over dominant. What has been the effect of the ‘weather’?

And where does God fit into this? Jesus talks about building our house solidly on the rock of his teaching, and he is also described as a cornerstone around which we are built.

Is God one of our big blocks – or is God involved in all of them? Are all the parts in our lives equally connected to God, or are there some parts of our lives where we feel that connection most fully, and other parts which seem more detached from God? Do we notice ourselves  trying hard to hold the whole thing together ourselves? Can God be both the master builder and the mortar for us?

You can use your ‘bricks’ to reflect on this in prayer:

Hold your bricks in your open hand. Bring to mind what they each represent. Hold them before God. Be aware of God looking upon them with you…

There may be things here for which you want to give thanks. 
You can allow that thanksgiving to rise naturally, and offer it to God…

There may be something which causes you concern or pain or sadness. 
You can hold this before God, aware of the love which holds you and all that is part of your life, and all those who are part of your life...

Can you sense any strains or cracks in the building of your life? Is there anything which might need repair or repointing? Are there parts where you might open more fully to God the master builder? You can offer these to God…

Creator God, we thank you for the ways in which you have built and shaped our lives.
We ask for your grace to strengthen all that is good in our lives, and to renew all that needs repair.
May your love hold together all that we are, and join us more deeply to each other. We remember too people and nations who are fractured and broken, and we bring to you our longing for the rebuilding of those lives and communities.
We bring these prayers, trusting in the transforming love you which bring us in Jesus.