I thank you for the invitation to write for the new Quarterly Magazine. Instantly I had a topic in mind because my Granddaughter and I have been working on a storyline with a topical theme.
Walls have a dual purpose. Some might argue they are built for the benefit of an individual, or the good and wellbeing of many. The height of the wall depends on the situation and how much one wishes to seal themselves in or keep others out. I believe, many of us have recently had to familiarise ourselves with the restrictions of ‘walls’ these last few months and I hope and pray those walls have not been too destructive.

I would like to add another wall for consideration and that comes from the Book of Joshua Chapter 2 where Rehab uses the window in her wall to allow the two spies Joshua sent to Jericho to escape. We now develop our wall into something lifesaving: “So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.” (Joshua 2:15)
Most people will also associate Jericho with marching and the carrying of the Ark of the Covenant around the walls, in silence for the first six days until the seventh day when they were allowed to shout and make loud noises until the city wall fell. Rest assured Rehab and her family were safe and taken care of – and it was decreed that the Jericho city wall was to never be built again and it never was.

My Granddaughter and I based our story loosely around Frozen II (which actually wasn’t a wall but a dam). Within our storyline of walls and dams our palace became so neglected and run down we held such sadness because they had no water or visitors. We made boulders but they weren’t strong enough to break down the walls. We got a stoneman to help but he couldn’t break down the wall so we put on our thinking caps and created steps to climb up and over the wall. Wonderfully this worked and the palace was freed and new life grew again.
Yes, all who wanted to gain access to the palace had to climb up and down the stairs, but surely this is a price worth paying to have freedom! We think it is. Remember if you can’t get round your wall there will surely be a way over it, or indeed perhaps there is a window in your wall and you haven’t yet been able to open it.
Blessings
Margaret McKinnon