Promising Prognostication

Every February 2nd, I think that maybe someday I'll visit Punxsatawney, PA, home of Punxsatawny Phil, the prognosticating rodent. This past weekend, Bruce and I did! And, there were lots of groundhogs gracing the town... some of them 30 feet high and made of painted wood :-}

But we didn't go there to see the groundhogs. Though it was thrilling, to be sure!

We were honored to be asked to facilitate a weekend marriage conference, in conjunction with Faith Fellowship Church. We met some lovely people and spent Friday evening and all day Saturday in good fellowship at a campground just outside of Punxsy. Pastor Tom and Cindy Brink are new friends we're so glad to have made.

One of the themes we incorporated at the conference was Rebuilding the Broken Walls of Your Marriage, from the book of Nehemiah in the Bible. We visited some principles based on the idea that a marriage constitutes a unique 'unit', a fortress for a man and wife and their offspring to live and thrive in. Just as the ancient city of Jerusalem was surrounded by a mighty wall, marriages need a defense against the things of this world that would seek to tear them down.

Walls, by nature, provide a boundary and fortification. When the walls are broken down, the 'inhabitants' of the city are left vulnerable, without a clear identity. And if their own actions led to the destruction, they may also be hounded by shame.

One of the points particularly significant to me in the account of Nehemiah, was that the broken down and burned out ruins of the walls of ancient Jerusalem were rebuilt using the original and seemingly unusable stones. The workers were ridiculed at such a notion, but it was an intentional part of the plan. Nehemiah, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, leads the people to work together, reclaiming the ruins and restoring their heritage.

So often, our generation is one of "if it's broken, chuck it out and buy new ". But Nehemiah's story is one of taking the disappointment, discouragement, and difficulty -- and rebuilding, not discarding. It wasn't easy, and I don't mean to sound simplistic. The people were challenged by great adversaries, and they worked hard, day and night. They had to stand guard over the progress they made, even sleeping with their weapons at their side. But, the book of Nehemiah is symbolic of what the Holy Spirit can do for us in the broken places of our lives and our marriages.

The word holiness and the word wholeness are both from the Old English root word “hal” which means completeness. God, who is Holy, through the work of His Holy Spirit desires to make us whole. He has placed in us unimaginable potential, and has restored our authority and dominion through Jesus the Christ. Leviticus 11:44 tells us to ‘be holy as He is holy.” And because we are made in His image, He has given us the capacity, regardless of the state of our marriage, to be whole. That’s why we called the conference Wholey Matrimony.

In the movie version of Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) found himself trapped in time, reliving February 2nd over and over, making the same mistakes or finding ground for new ones. When he discovered that he could rebuild his-story by changing some of his self-centered and destructive ways, his perspective changed, and so did his behavior. It became a story of redemption somehow impacted by a supernatural guide.

Redemption is all about hope. And hope springs eternal.

And often, the groundhog is 'heard' to proclaim, "Spring is just around the corner."