And So Mother Built a Dam

As is typical of many places in New England, my sleepy little hometown of Andover, Massachusetts, is built on terrain that varies quite a bit. Take Walnut Avenue as an example. If you start out at the top of the hill, then you’ll go down rapidly for quite a way, then it levels out a bit, and then it drops down, down, until at the bottom you can see the nearby Shawsheen River. Walnut Avenue is a great venue for an exhilarating, albeit dangerous, bike ride. Believe me, I know. I do wonder, though, how much I’m exaggerating the size of the hill due to the perception of my youth.

Coming off Walnut Avenue at ninety degrees are various streets that make the hill seem like it’s terraced with asphalt. One of those streets is Carmel Road, next to which our 1950’s house is positioned. In my years of living there, Carmel Road was never paved properly. Consequently, every year they sprayed a layer of heavy, oily tar on it and then loaded it up with fine gravel. Mother warned me to not walk on it when it was fresh because the tar might get all over my shoes. Yes, of course, the little boy named Brian forgot about this and did it, anyway. My punishment was that I had to stop playing outside, sit in a chair facing our front door so that I could see where I might have played, and read a book. Read a book! Yes, folks, Brian loved reading and so he embraced this punishment with great zeal, being very careful not to express his delight too loudly.

Our back yard and the back yards of the houses on either side of ours were at the bottom of a hill. It was nice looking out the back and seeing trees and neighboring houses, at least until the neighbor built a swimming pool that was partially above ground. Dad was not particularly happy about the appearance, and because he liked the trees he didn’t agree to cut down the huge wild cherry tree (or the mountain ash). Both rained down copious quantities of organic matter on the pool, and even so the neighbor was still kind enough to let me swim in it. It was this same neighbor that jacked up his radio volume to max so that he could blare The Age of Aquarius when it first came out in 1969. It’s a little known fact that the dawning of the Age of Aquarius actually began in a dirty swimming pool in Andover.

One consequence of the hill was that when we had any significant amount of rain it would drain into our back yard and the back yard of one of our neighbors. Mother and Dad were convinced that most of the water was coming down into our neighbor’s yard and then draining over into ours, and this caused water problems in our basement. Our neighbor insisted that the problem wasn’t his, and he wouldn’t budge when Dad asked if he would share the cost of a French drain system to clear both yards of water.

We had a nice wood-burning fireplace in our living room, and we had quite a bit of firewood. On a day with a promising rain—oh, it was a very promising rain—Mother decided that it was time. She went out in the back yard and began stacking firewood along the property line, being very careful to not get any of it on our neighbor’s yard. She continued this until she had constructed a dam that sealed off our yard from theirs, and then she went back inside the house and waited. After the showers of blessing continued for some time, the water backed up on our neighbor’s yard behind the excellent dam she had constructed. Yes, the water infiltrated the neighbor’s house, and then the phone rang. I’m told that the conversation included “You’re going to hear from my lawyer!” and “You’ll have to talk with my husband when he gets home.” Shortly thereafter a new French drain system was constructed, and it spanned both yards.

You can see that our neighbor had a problem that he refused to acknowledge until the evidence of the problem was so great that he couldn’t ignore it any longer. Are we any different? Sometimes our problems create simple annoyances for other people, but others are so significant that, when left unattended, they damage relationships. For example, one spouse doggedly refuses to acknowledge that he has a bad habit and he insists on being left alone, but she recognizes that the habit is destructive and tries to be helpful, and then they disagree and then…. Or a spouse can stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that she overreacts to small things. This creates tension in the relationship, and that makes it easier for her to get hurt feelings, and then voices get loud, and then…. And on and on it goes. Some people just refuse to admit to their faults until the water in the basement seeps onto the first floor and gets their shoes wet. By then major damage has already been done.

God, of course, sees us with complete clarity, and He is perfectly just to all.

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.

(Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV)

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked,

for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

(Galatians 6:7 ESV)

No, we cannot hide from God. No, without God we cannot escape the consequences of sin. Are you troubled? Go to Jesus Christ.

Come to me,

all who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

(Matthew 11:28-29 ESV)