I've sat in rooms numerous times with other girls and guys who hate themselves so much they hurt themselves by cutting deep into their skin just to make the emotional pain go away.  I've seen tears run down faces when talking of how much they hate themselves and can't even comprehend that someone could love them.

Living in isolation, trying to love them self with whatever makes them feel good and can take away the pain.  Things that at the moment feel good but later make them more empty, more sad, more ashamed, and ultimately feel unworthy of God's love.  I know because I am one of those people who feels this shame and emptiness.

As the shame and sadness grow it causes us to retreat into our own world where we fall into believing that we can not be loved by others therefore we must find a way to love ourselves.  The walls go up and these walls become thicker, higher, more guarded, and then eventually we place shooting towers at the corners just to make sure nobody gets in secretly.

I like to describe my wall as being made of plexi-glass.  In the beginning you cannot see a wall around me, but then when you try to walk up to my wall and see me standing there motioning for you to come over,  SMACK, you hit my wall.  Because you cannot see a wall of glass there, you may try again.  SMACK, you hit the wall again.  So you try once more, this time taking a run at it but once again you hit my wall.

The sad thing is that these walls we put up to protect ourselves may serve the purpose of protecting us from others hurting us, but at the same time it keeps others out and away from loving us.

Why did we build these walls in the first place?  Simple, to protect ourselves.  Early on in life we learned that people can hurt us, and most often it's the ones that are closest to us: friends, parents, or siblings.  In order to escape from the pain we built up a shield to protect us from the arrows of pain that stab us so deeply some never recover.

The good news is these walls can come down and love can then reach us.  Just as God had the Israelites march around the walls of Jericho, He is marching around the walls of our hearts.  For me, He has used amazing friends to show me His love.  With each lap they take, (and by lap, I mean a lap can take a year or more) my wall becomes a little weaker.

Next time you see someone who is distant, unfriendly, hurting, or someone who may seem to have it all together and doesn't need a hand... (walls come in many styles), remember that the only way to tear down walls is by love.