I have to tell you about Harry Andrews. His story is unforgettable and absolutely inspiring. I'll start by telling you how he died and came back to life, and how that resulted in the saving of hundreds of lives. Then I'll tell you what he did with the rest of his life that continually inspires me as a mom.
Harry was an American who served as a medic in WWI. During that time he, along with 7,000 other soldiers, contracted an extremely deadly form of meningitis. It took his life. By all observations, he was dead. He was put in the morgue, and Washington received his record of death.
After awhile, I don't know how many hours, his body was taken from the morgue back to the hospital. The doctors were cutting away tissue in his mouth for bacterial cultures, when one of them had the idea that they should try out this "new stuff" they had, called adrenaline. They shot it into his heart and punched his chest. His heart started beating.
He was blind, paralyzed, and weighed a mere 89 pounds. Everyone expected him to die...again. However, over the course of several weeks, he recovered his ability to move and regained his sight.
Doctors were able to use the antibodies in Harry's blood to save others from this terrible disease. Only one other soldier survived that initial outbreak.
Towards the end of the war, Harry served as an administrator at an army hospital that had taken residence in a castle in France. That, combined with the fact that he studied architecture in college, leads to the next amazing part of his story, which I find fascinating.
In his early 30's he led a dozen or so boys in a Sunday School and Boy Scout Troop. He named the troop "Knights of the Golden Trail". Based on the 10 commandments and principles of chivalrous knighthood, their purpose was to preserve dignity in a culture with deteriorating values and ideals.
Harry often took the boys camping by a river on a plot of land that he owned in Loveland, Ohio (near Cincinnati). They would leave their supplies there, but between weather and wild animals, their belongings were often lost or ruined.
In 1929, at the age of 39, Harry decided to build two small rooms out of stones from the river. They could store their belongings in and sleep in these "stone tents".
Those stone tents were just the beginning. Harry was inspired to build an actual castle for these knights he was mentoring. Stone by stone, brick by brick, over the course of 50 years, he built a 1/5 scale replica of a 16th century medieval castle. By hand. By himself.
He carried an estimated 56,000 buckets of stones up out of the river. That's 4 million stones! He also made his own bricks out of concrete formed in paper milk cartons that people donated. Harry committed 23,000 hours of hard labor to the building of this castle.
The castle was a physical representation of the invisible work he did in the lives of the young men he mentored. He inspired and encouraged people to live great lives for God's glory. He gave of his time and his strength to build a castle for the knights he cared so much for. His love and dedication are inspiring to me.
Building the castle with these gathered stones and concrete bricks, is a picture of sacrificially building into the lives of others. As it relates to motherhood, it could mean waking up in the night to comfort a child, patiently listening, gently correcting, preparing yet another meal, giving a bath, reading a story, changing a diaper...endless humble tasks. It includes teaching them truth in the simple moments of life, and directing their eyes to see God's glory all around.
It sounds easy, and yet at times feels almost impossible. When I think of Harry walking down to the river carrying his buckets to gather stones, I think of myself going to my heavenly Father. I come before Him with hands open, asking for the grace and wisdom I need to nurture and care for my children. I "fill my bucket" so I can build. I'm filled to be emptied...again and again.
So often motherhood can feel more like attempting to knit a scarf than building a castle. After I've worked for hours, someone runs by and grabs the string...unraveling everything I've done. That's how it can feel. But the truth is, I am building something much greater than I realize. I have to live by faith knowing that God is working, as I am working. I simply need to keep going! Keep moving forward.
It requires vision, dedication, perseverance, love, and the grace of God. I'm building healthy relationships with my children. I'm creating a family culture. All these small moments add up to a life, just like those 4 million stones added up to a beautiful castle.
I've been given land and a river full of stones. It's up to me to decide what to do with it. I want to build into the lives of my children, in the simple moments, by the grace of God.
(Written December 19, 2017)
On April 14, 2018 my family got to visit this castle! It was really fun to see it in person.
