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 toward 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 7,
The War,
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.
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.
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.
Or the waiting.
Let them rest beside the path for now.
Whisper inwardly,
I am here.
I am listening.
Stay with that readiness for one more slow,
Deep breath.
Now gently,
Let's begin Chapter 7,
The War.
One morning,
I was wakened by the loud sound of arguing and clanging.
I stumbled out of bed and ran to the front room to find him there,
Looking out through the picture window.
What's going on?
I asked,
Wildly looking around,
My hair a cloud of confusion around my head.
They've come to blows,
He said,
Nodding outside.
Who?
Who?
What?
What?
Where?
He turned to me and stifled a laugh.
It can wait until you put a robe on,
I think.
I realized I was standing in the living room in my pajamas with part of my hair sticking up in the air and the other part plastered to my head.
I wrapped my arms around myself and smiled weakly.
And maybe run a brush through my hair,
I said to myself as I returned to my room.
After putting on my bathrobe,
Slipping my slippers on,
And smoothing my hair down,
I came to the front room to find him brewing a pot of coffee and putting breakfast on the table.
Is this better?
I said,
Smiling.
Well,
The other was more interesting,
But I didn't think you'd be comfortable that way.
The arguing and clanging outside had died down,
But we could still hear an occasional angry shout.
What's going on outside?
I asked as I reached for toast and marmalade.
Do you remember the sign you passed on your way in?
I nodded with my mouth full.
Well,
Another group from a different sign location was on a pilgrimage,
And they ran into each other.
I see,
And that was the problem?
Apparently,
They started arguing over which sign was best.
It would seem that the conversation was heated.
But don't the signs point to the same place?
Oh,
Yes,
He said.
I've learned never to underestimate someone's need to be right,
And more importantly,
Make others wrong.
In such cases,
The truth is the first casualty.
At that moment,
A loud boom sounded,
Shaking the windows.
It startled me,
And I jumped.
However,
When I turned to look at him,
He didn't even flinch.
How can you be so calm?
Are they trying to blow each other up?
Probably,
He said,
Reaching for another biscuit.
Are we going to do anything?
What do you think we should do?
I don't know.
Something?
What do you think would work?
I sat in silence,
Thinking about that question.
What would work?
I realized that I had no idea.
Throughout the day,
The conflict escalated.
I could hear shouting back and forth,
Punctuated with clanging and the occasional boom.
Around mid-afternoon,
A silence settled in.
After a few minutes,
I figured they'd worked out their differences and went about my business.
We had dinner in an eerie silence.
It was like everything was holding its breath.
There weren't even crickets chirping.
It was ominous.
It was creepy.
I had just gone to bed and was almost asleep when a loud shout erupted from outside.
I almost fell out of bed.
I crouched on the floor for a few seconds before realizing where I was.
I flew out of my bedroom,
Colliding with him in the hallway.
I was alarmed.
He was not.
What is it now?
It's war.
What?
What in the world does that mean?
I must admit I was sharp with him.
I generally don't like being shocked from bed,
So perhaps I can be forgiven for being a little grumpy.
He took me to the front window and pointed through the forest of the Valley of the Shadow of Death to the corner where the sign stood.
I could see the flames in the distance.
I could see the silhouette of people fighting.
I could hear weapons clanging.
I could hear battle cries and beyond that the sound of people crying out in pain.
I turned to him with concern on my face.
How can we help?
People are being injured in this war.
His expression told me that I was missing something,
So I looked again.
Do you see where the battle is?
He asked.
I nodded.
Do you see where it's not?
He continued.
Well,
I see that it seems to be around the sign.
But it's not in your yard,
I said.
He turned to me and smiled.
True.
To get to my yard,
They would have to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
They would have to die to themselves.
Of course,
Once they died to themselves,
They would have no reason to fight anymore,
No need to be right anymore.
Notice how they've taken great care to move the battle away from that which requires the death of ego.
As long as they choose to fight each other,
They'll never come to this house.
Do you remember when I told you that the false self keeps many from making the journey?
This is part of what I meant.
If we rush to help the wounded,
We would still have to bring them through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,
And many simply will not come.
It seems silly to think that all of this is a fight over the location of a sign.
Actually,
This fight started because one sign is made of wood and one sign uses electricity.
The group with the wood sign believed that their sign was the true sign because it was older.
The group with the electronic sign felt that their sign appealed to more people,
So it was better.
So all of this pain and suffering,
Not to mention confusion,
Is about the validity of a sign that neither group has actually followed?
True,
Such is the way of the false self.
It creates confusion to protect itself.
It creates fear to protect itself.
It creates anger to protect itself.
It creates self-righteousness to protect itself.
Now do you understand why the Valley of the Shadow of Death is your friend and not your enemy?
For the first time with a night on fire and people dying in the distance,
I understood.
Before we close,
Take a slow,
Steady breath.
Let the echoes of this story settle inside you.
The clash of voices,
The trembling window panes,
The quiet steadiness of his presence.
You've just witnessed the difference between the battleground of the false self and the stillness of the true self,
Between the need to be right and the peace of being real.
As you rest here,
Notice what stands out for you.
Maybe it's the sound of the fighting outside the window or the calm way he sat at the table,
Untouched by chaos.
Whatever stirs within you,
Simply notice without judgment.
Consider these reflections as gentle invitations for your own journey.
When we think about the battle over the signs,
Where in your life might you be fighting to prove you're right instead of resting in truth?
What are you trying to protect?
In regards to the distance from his yard,
What keeps you from walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?
The inner surrender that would end the war within you.
Regarding the nature of the false self,
Can you recognize how fear,
Anger,
Or self-righteousness might be serving as armor for your ego?
What would it feel like to lay that armor down?
And finally,
The peace beyond the battle.
What would it mean in your current season to step away from the noise and choose stillness instead of struggle?
Take another deep breath.
You don't have to force understanding,
Simply let insight unfold in its own time.
As you sit in the quiet now,
Imagine yourself inside his house,
Safe,
Peaceful,
And untouched by the war outside.
Hear his calm voice reminding you,
The valley is not your enemy,
It is your way home.
Let that truth wash through you like light breaking through smoke.
When you're ready,
Whisper softly to your heart,
I choose peace over proving.
I choose love over being right.
And rest here a while,
In the stillness that can never be shaken.
