Rebuilding the City of Ashes

    Right at daybreak, two blinks before the sun arose to chase the dark from the sky, the Hands would get going on the dust.  Slowly and pleasantly, As if gravity were taken up in some giant inhale, all the pieces would begin to rise up like silver specks and grey feathers.  The Hands would work and begin rebuilding throughout the pieces a majestic formation.  The center building arose first, then the smaller buildings, gardens, walkways, bridges, homes, the shops, and the great balloon park with its merry go rounds and high swings for the children.  When the ashes came together the hands would clap a loud thud of approval by placing both hands on each side of every rebuilt structure and pounding it into solidity.  It was a thunderous sound that shook the ground and sent a wonder and awe down every spine, had their been spines of people to watch it.  But all were sound asleep, and in the dreams they dreamt they would hear the clap and be astounded by some vision of their dreams in connection to the sound.  

       One by one the clap would move from building to building, garden to bridge, shop to shop and home to home, it was a careful and meticulous work.  Everything was rebuilt before the two blinks, before the sun came through and made it appear as if the city were never in ashes.  

       The Hands would take the city gently into mindful intentionality, consistent and strong.  Every morning before the sun came up the final work would finish with an exhale, the pieces that remained were mostly thin sealing pieces that kept everything securely in place as they fell gracefully back to the ground.  A rush of wind and water would travel throughout the city filling the spaces with water and life, making every plant and building come together in unity.  

       A brand new place built up from the ground, the wonder of it all overwhelmed the eyes of the child who awoke to behold it.  All of this happened every morning before the child would awake and burn the whole place down by every night.  

       But the Hands would rebuild the city of ashes just like that, and little by little the child would begin to change at the sight so frighteningly wonderful.  A strange but lovely assurance grew in the child as doubt and fear would melt away.  

"Burn the place down. 

I'll build it back up." 

       The child would find those words written on smooth side of her forearms.  Strangely, it brought her a sense of comfort and an identity of belonging.  The Words kept the child from a fear of being lost.  Nonetheless, everyone knew what the child did each day was wrong, and even the child knew.  Even the child knew.  The child would walk into the great city with plans to do just that, to burn the whole place down.  

       At the final few minutes before walking away from the wreck and finding a corner in the shade to fall asleep, the child's cold heart would feel the ember of anticipation for the Hands to come and rebuild the city of ashes.  Little did the child know that the ember would grow brighter on the inside, a spark of fire would take over and burn everything inside of her own fragile body down.  The fire swirled within and left nothing untouched, just as the child did with the city.  The Hands were rebuilding the heart of the child, a metaphysical mound of ashes would emerge with new life every morning.  All this happened as the child awoke with a sense of awe unexplainable.  

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 

he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away, 

and look, 

new things have come. 

Everything is from God, 

who reconciled us to Himself through Christ 

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 

That is, in Christ, 

God was reconciling the world to Himself, 

not counting their trespasses against them, 

and He has committed 

the message of reconciliation to us.”

2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Jmegrey