The Way it is With Walls

tree saga part 3 continued

I've given a lot of thought as to how our new front yard will look but I've left room for spontaneity as the plan begins to take shape. Planning is important but if I don't leave wiggle room then the end result is not truly me. (You will notice that my husband is not part of the equation. God bless him; he leaves the design up to me and he does the work. What a partnership! And no, that's not my hubby in the photo.)

We begin with the hardscape. Since our land slants gently from the house to the street, the wall allows us to infill with dirt for a flat, even surface providing a level platform from which we will build a ground level deck (not patio as we are using redwood not stone).

As much as the wall allows us to build things up, it also holds things back as it keeps the dirt from spilling onto the sidewalk. So it holds things in and keeps things out. That's the way it is with walls. Whether you are on the "inside" or "outside" depends on where you are standing.

...and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. (Ex 14:22)

...with my God I can scale a wall (Psalm 18:29)

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. (Psalm 18:11)

You (God) have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall. (Isaiah 25:4)

This sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and building, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. (Isaiah 30:13)

Therefore I will block her path with thorn bushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. (Hsa 2:6)

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. (Amo 7:7)

"And I myself will be a wall of fire around it," declares the Lord, "and I will be its glory within." (Zech 2:5)

For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14)