Five Minute Friday ~ Broken

We toured what remained of the ancient castle,

abandoned centuries ago and not just left to its fate, but

destroyed by the very hands that once maintained it.

 Explosively "flattening" the gatehouse by the inhabitants as they left meant that the fortress would be unusable to any "re-possessors" of the building.

What was once strong, defensible, empowering, intimidating and sheltering

became broken.

And I've been thinking about broken since.

We wandered about the remnants of ancient civilizations with incomprehensible to me religions and standing stones are all that remain...

...and even many of those are crumbling, cracking, splitting, tumbling 

and would disappear were there not those stepping in, protecting.

I see remnants of my own faith forsaken.

Ancient churches deserted and discarded,

what once used to be a place of faith, a sentinel reminding that

 Christ alone gives men a hope and a future ~

~now perhaps nothing more than a souvenir of what once was and what often happens

when and where men choose their own way, work out their own faith, 

without God's grace.

In all of that, I can easily see me:

struggling with doubts,

tired of not knowing the next step,

wondering what guarantees me that my answers are THE answers.

And whether I look it or act it or say it or not,

I wonder if I'm breaking or broken...

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Lisa-Jo is having people link up differently this week ~ head over to her page to find the links and directions if you want to join in!