So, did you miss me? Well, the world got busy. I got lazy, but I never forgot about the faithful few who followed me through the junkyard.
I guess I stopped writing because I found that I had reached the end. I discovered that there was a method to my madness and that the process worked, but the subject only ran that deep. So, I packed my bags and walked along with the knowledge that there had to be more to what I learned than just some quirky people who worship God in an unusual way or in an unusual place. The walk did me good. It cleared my head and allowed me to think more completely.
So, why did God carry me on this trip?
The junkyard was full of great locations to learn how to operate in survival mode. As the process melted into a pile of rubber-cemented information, I found the answer to my question. I was there to build the utopian world, a place where quirky people can come to worship. The Junkyard.
Over the next couple of weeks, months, or possibly days, I am going to write the story of the Junkyard, building a world where we take the best pieces of all this mud and sculpt they perfect society. Well, at least for me. It won’t be everyday. It might take years to get through this, or it may just fall apart. The thing is that to build this, I have to understand the inner workings of some of the cultures and Christian remnants and how they succeed at Christian life.
I was surprised that I don’t really know much about other denominations and beliefs. I was further surprised to find out a couple of little secrets about why some groups succeed and others fail. No, I’m not the expert. I’m not even close to an expert. But I find that in searching for the truth, I often find the ugly lies that we have been taught as gospel. The big surprise is that often, the old ways succeed better than the new and improved ways.
Anyone wishing to tag along is welcome. Anyone wanting to guest blog is of course welcome to submit.
The first thing we need to do is establish the ground rules. The place is fictitious, so my description of the grounds is purely for ease of discussion. If there ever becomes a location like this, the world will have to be modified to fit the layout of the real world. Second, the people are not real. I will make them up, but please understand that the principals we use are real. Let’s begin.
The cold winter’s frost melted into a cool spring morning. Along the edge of the property, the blackbirds sang and chirped as they foraged for worms and bread crumbs in the grasses over the meadow. Just this past winter, we repaired the barn to store our equipment and store our supplies. The sun glittered on the ripples of the pond over in the pasture. The long run of single wides running down the makeshift road reminded me of the trailer parks in the other side of the mountain, down in the valley where the old wooden church stood. I often wondered if the reason our church was so reminiscent theirs was because we looked so much like them.
The church was our first building, long and narrow with a wooden steeple spiraling against the sky. I wished often we had built a bigger porch at the front. It is hard to gather there when it rains.
On this spring-like day, the kids played in the yard near the cemetery. I loved to watch them play, but the spring air seems to give them more energy and more life. The teens hang around the parking lot waiting for the old folks to leave them to their own services.
The old folks, married and responsible, spent their noon hours talking and laughing, waiting for Sunday dinner to be served in the hall. Some of the ladies and gentlemen busy themselves setting the tables with tea and bread. Others clang dishes in the kitchen. All in a normal Sunday at the Junkyard.
The long walk back to our trailer takes us past the lots being developed that will house the families of our community. Some will have smaller homes with nice kitchens and baths. All will have what they need. Built by the members, with each and every brick laid in place, each stud nailed properly.
Just past the community garden is the swimming pool and hot tub area. Recreation is an important part of being a community. Those that pray together, play together and eat together will stay together.
Having the last trailer on the road placed us next to the office and entrance to the community. The gate is more than most of us need, but it makes us feel safer at night. At one end a gate, at the other the church. The houses working their way around the circle.