His House: Chapter 10 – The Wall | Story & Reflection

The Wall explores what happens when fear tries to protect faith. Awakened by the sound of construction, the traveler discovers that others are building a wall to keep “evildoers” out—those who believe differently or have seen other signs. Struggling to understand why Love allows such barriers, she learns a deeper truth: Love cannot be contained, controlled, or confined.

Where there seems to be no way, Love makes one. This chapter is a gentle reminder that divine love moves freely through every wall we build, transforming separation into connection and exclusion into grace.

Background music by Liborio Conti.

Transcript

Welcome to His House,

A parable of spiritual intimacy,

Written by me,

Judy Boozer.

This story is a parable,

A spiritual journey told through metaphor,

Inviting you beyond information and into experience.

Before we begin,

I want to share a brief note about language.

Throughout His House,

God is presented using masculine pronouns.

This isn't because I believe God is male,

But because,

As a woman,

I wanted to capture the experience of intimacy with a being whose thought process and essence felt entirely different from my own.

To do that,

I chose the other side of the human duality,

Masculinity,

To represent the divine within this story.

My hope is that,

Regardless of gender,

You hear beyond the words,

Into the relationship,

The longing,

And the love that the story reveals.

Each chapter opens a window into the soul's walk towards the divine,

A walk that moves through symbols,

Emotions,

And revelation.

To fully enter this journey,

It helps to begin not with the mind,

But with the heart.

These moments aren't meant to be hurried or analyzed.

They're meant to be felt.

So,

Before we begin chapter 10,

The Wall,

We'll take a few quiet moments together to slow down,

Breathe,

And become present,

Body,

Mind,

And spirit,

So that you can experience the story rather than simply hear it.

Take a slow breath in through your nose,

And release it gently through your mouth.

Let your shoulders soften.

Open.

Let your jaw unclench.

Let the pace of your day begin to fall away.

Feel the support beneath you,

The ground,

The chair,

The earth.

You are safe here.

You are held.

Another slow,

Deep breath in,

And out.

With each breath,

Let your awareness move closer to this moment,

Closer to stillness.

Nothing to prove,

Nothing to produce,

Just this space to be.

Now imagine yourself standing on a quiet path.

The air around you is calm,

Almost expectant.

Somewhere ahead,

There's a soft light,

A glow you can't quite see clearly yet,

But it calls to something deep within you.

This light,

This call,

Is the beginning of your journey to his house.

Breathe deeply again,

And as you do,

Let go of whatever might distract you,

The noise,

The planning,

The worries,

The waiting.

Let those things rest beside the path for now.

Whisper inwardly,

I am here.

I am listening.

I am breathing.

Stay with that readiness for one more slow,

Deep breath.

Now gently,

Let's begin Chapter 10,

The Wall.

The banging is what woke me.

For a second,

I thought I had a pounding headache,

But quickly realized that it was just pounding,

As in construction.

I rolled over in my bed with a groan,

And then decided that there would be no more sleeping today.

Huffing,

I sat up and blew the hair out of my face.

I grabbed my bathrobe,

Put it on,

And went into the front room where he was already sitting at the table,

Reading and drinking a cup of coffee.

Good morning,

He said brightly.

I grumped in response and headed to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee.

I sat down across from him and took a sip of morning heaven.

What's the pounding?

I asked as the caffeine started to work.

Oh,

They're building something down on the corner.

Hmm,

Maybe they're building a new sign,

I said optimistically.

The look on his face said that it would be interesting and unlikely.

I don't know why they would rebuild a sign after going to such great lengths to destroy it,

Was all he said before returning to his book.

What are you reading?

I asked,

Awake enough to be curious.

Crossword,

He said before getting up and going to the kitchen.

Do you want some bacon?

How about some eggs?

I'm making biscuits or I could make my world famous French toast.

All of that sounds good,

I said,

Suddenly starting to get hungry.

Do I have time to quickly shower and dress before it's ready?

Sure,

Go ahead,

He said as he moved around the kitchen.

I left my cup on the table and hurried to get ready.

After breakfast,

The sounds of construction continued.

I tried to work on a puzzle,

But the noise kept distracting me.

I looked out the front window trying to catch a glimpse of what they were building,

But in the daylight all I could see were trees and a general sense of movement.

Finally,

I could stand it no longer.

I found him in the garden.

Would you mind if I went to see what they're building?

Not at all.

It'll be nice to have an explanation for all that pounding,

He said as he tied morning glory vines to a trellis.

They were in full bloom and the royal blue trumpets were exquisite.

As I neared the corner of his yard,

I could see the reason for the construction.

I stopped walking and just stood in shock.

They were building a wall.

They were building a wall to block off part of the path that the travelers took.

I took a step or two closer.

I could see a tall wall made of wood and stone with a small gate in the center and a big lock on this side.

There was an opening in the gate through which whoever was on the other side could be seen.

Either side of the wall was flush against the mountain,

So there was no way around it.

I turned and ran back to the garden,

Finding him still there,

Tending his grapevines,

Which were heavy with dark purple fruit.

When I told him about the wall,

His eyebrow raised slightly,

But other than that,

He gave no indication that it bothered him.

But it bothered me.

If they built a wall,

It would block people from seeking his house.

The fact that it didn't seem to bother him bothered me,

Too.

Truthfully,

I was angry with him for not seeming to care about those whose way would be blocked.

It was like he had no sense of what this wall meant.

By the next day,

The construction was complete.

I sat across the table from him while he read his crossword,

Stewing about how he didn't seem to care about those people who were seeking him,

But unable to get past the wall.

Without looking up,

He said,

You're bothered.

I semi-glared at him.

Do you want to talk about it,

Or would you prefer to just stare at me?

I'm okay with either.

I put my cup down harder than necessary.

I just don't think you understand what's at stake for these people,

I said.

I thought you cared about them,

And I'm really surprised that it seems like you don't.

He put the book down and smiled at me.

Let's go take a look at it,

Then,

He said.

We went to the corner past the forest.

There was the wall,

Just as I'd seen earlier.

There was a new guard shack near the gate where people took turns guarding the gate and challenging people who wanted to come through.

We went to the current guard,

A young man with short brown hair and an air of intensity about him.

What is the purpose of this wall,

He asked the young man.

This wall is to protect us from evildoers who gather around other signs,

The man said.

Ah,

And how does it do that?

Well,

I suppose I can tell you since you're on this side.

When someone wants to pass this way,

We look through this window in the gate and ask them if they've been to any other signs apart from the one here.

We ask if they believe there is any other sign other than the one here.

If they answer yes to either of those questions,

They can't come in.

The risk is just too great.

Even if they say no,

We make them tell us about the sign here just to confirm they've actually seen it.

If they deviate in any way from what we've been taught,

They can't come in.

We have to keep the disruptive element out.

Even if they look good and we let them in,

We watch them really carefully until they've proven themselves trustworthy.

It's all about protecting the peace.

I see,

He said.

It's a good system,

The man stated intently.

Hmm,

He replied as he led me away with his hand on my elbow.

After we got a little distance away,

I whispered,

See what I mean?

He smiled.

Sometimes I hate that smile that tells me I'm missing something important,

Especially because it's always right.

Okay,

What am I missing?

I can see it on your face that I'm missing something.

Look here,

He said as he waved to the side of the path back to his house.

There was a ditch that ran through the middle of an especially thick bunch of trees.

Down in that ditch,

I saw the top of a mop of hair over two eyes that darted around.

There's a person there,

I said quietly.

Yes,

He's making a way around the wall.

But,

But,

But where did he come from?

I turned around looking for some sort of path this young man could have taken.

You were upset about the sign worshippers attempt to control access to me,

To my house,

He said.

I nodded my eyes wide knowing he was about to reveal the great mystery to me.

You forgot the deeper truth.

You can't keep love in any more than you can keep it out.

Love finds a way.

If there is no way,

Love makes a way.

No one comes to me because of their thoughts or feelings,

They come to me because I called them.

We're drawn to each other like magnets.

The love in that invitation finds a way to overcome obstacles,

No matter what they are.

There is no wilderness too wild or desert too deserted that love will not transform it into a way to my house.

I watched as the man from the ditch climbed out and made a dash down the path I knew led to God's house.

I looked farther up the mountain and saw another face hiding behind a tree and then another farther up crouched behind a boulder.

I'm sorry,

I said as my eyes filled with tears.

I forget who you are sometimes,

Not just that you're him,

But that you're love.

He led me back to his house as tears streamed down my face.

As we neared the door,

He turned and took my face in his hands,

Wiping the tears away.

It is my great joy to remind you that I am love because I am love for you too.

There are moments when our love for what is true turns into a desire to protect it.

And before we know it,

We've built a wall around it.

Sometimes those walls are built out of fear,

Sometimes out of pain,

And sometimes out of pride in what we believe we've found.

But love doesn't stay behind the wall.

Love moves freely.

It calls.

It finds a way.

And if we listen,

It invites us to remember that no matter how well-intentioned our walls are,

Love was never meant to be contained.

Take a breath.

Let yourself feel where this story meets your own life.

Where in your life have you built a wall,

Maybe to protect something sacred or to feel safe?

What might that wall be keeping out that love still longs to reach?

When have you seen love make a way,

Even where you thought there was none?

How does it change your heart to remember that love can't be contained,

Not by fear,

Not by doctrine,

Not by anything human-made?

Love doesn't need permission to move.

Not to us,

Not to anyone.

It doesn't wait for our walls to come down.

It simply moves.

It doesn't ask because it doesn't need to.

It belongs to everyone.

And everyone belongs to love.

Love simply finds a way.

Through the cracks,

Through the kindness,

Through the quiet places we least expect.

May you rest in that knowing that love has already found its way to you.

And may you trust that it is finding its way to everyone else too.