things ABANDONED

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Why do we leave things? 

Some things we leave by choice and sometimes we abandon things to no fault of ourselves or others, things just happen. 

Life happens. 

Those who know me well, know I’m obsessed with abandoned houses.  I desperately want to know their story, and know what led to the house being built and vacated.  Most people drive country roads and pass by these disheveled houses, maybe even daily, and never give them a second look or thought.  Me, I spend long moments enthralled with the…

“What happened?”

 “Who are its people?”

“What happened to them?”

I long to find these answers. 

“Who walked through the house’s threshold, and what’s their story?”

“How many filled the house that’s left in the field, barely visible due to the overgrown hedge?”

“Who has eaten at the table that once filled the four walls of the dining room?”

“What went wrong?”

“What’s the story that led to the abandonment?”

“Who knows these answers?”

Or, as in the case of this picture…

“Who’s walked up the stairs at this church’s entrance?”

“Who nailed the cross at it’s highest point?”

“Who’s hands painted the paint that’s now more worn than not?”

“Who meticulously laid the brick that has withstood the years?

“Who planted the tree that’s roots are hidden, as well as its story?”

This is a picture of an abandoned church in Graham, Texas, and at first sighting, several years ago, I fell in love!  I’ve been obsessed with it from day one, and every time we travelled through Graham, on our way to our son’s ranch, we always checked on it, to make sure the leaning cross was still standing, because leaning is standing, and even when my husband went alone, he often called with a report from his quick glance.

I’ve peeked through the doors that are held together by tethered rope, and gazed inside, seen the disrepair, and my imagination runs wild wondering who has preached the Gospel here,

who accepted Jesus into their heart,

who’s been baptized,

repeated their vows,

what was the sound of worship, and

who has been remembered as they passed from this life to the next? 

There’s a narrow “U” shaped, gravel road that marks it’s entrance, and our trucks, and my car’s tires have felt the gravel on many occasion. 

The cracks in the windows prove that you can be both broken and beautiful at the same time, and its disrepair is a large part of its beauty.

I’ve walked its steps a couple of times, sat alone on the stairs, weeping, while talking to God, and shared the most precious conversations with my husband in front, with tears flowing so hard I could barely speak.  Words I’ll never take back, and bear in my heart for all my breaths.  I connect with this church, while I have no connection to it at all.  I’ve felt God there, and its part of my bond with Graham. 

Tears are flowing now, dripping on the hand carved table at which I type, at the ranch, listening to my husband work outside.  Alone in this massive house, which he built, but where God laid the foundation. I rest in this moment, just me and grace.  I pause, wipe tears from both my cheek and my smile.  God’s won so many times, and I’m the beneficiary. Blessed beyond belief, wildly more than I’ll ever deserve!

This forwards my thinking, and has moved my thoughts in so many directions to what all we abandon in life beside houses: relationships, families, skills, churches, God, to name a few. What about the child that’s abandoned, parents at work, left alone, maybe even to be the head of household? I can’t imagine what CPS sees and how much they carry in their minds and hearts. What about the children abandoned to drugs, or abuse? Even pets are abandoned, left alone to die on a filthy, deserted, lonely road, or maybe worse, connected by rope or chained to a tree that’s immovable, usually in the hot, scorching sun, parched.

How grateful we are that God doesn’t abandon us, even when He sees only our backs as we walk away, headed to do things our way. 

“The Lord your God who goes with you, He will not leave you or abandon you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

He puts a season upon us to change us, mark our lives, sear our hearts, carve our scars, and we walk away, as we can’t focus on the fire, for the flame. His faithfulness rings true and His Arms are forever open as He waits for us to choose to return, in our timing, not His, through redemption or even all out desperation.

Spend a moment thinking of the things you may have abandoned, and how it made you feel then, and now.  Then, think of some things you may want to abandon (anxieties, fears, negativity, restlessness) that will allow you to walk a little lighter, allow your relationships to strengthen, and help you live a more positive, less stressful life. 

Now, think of the things that the world told you to abandon, that you can once again grasp, cling onto, hold deeply in your heart, that will improve your daily walk, and relationship with the Lord. 

“For the Eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him.” - 2 Chronicles 16:9

We’re called to live “hearts abandoned” for God, so lets.