GOD & TEXAS: Walzem Chapel

The stone ruins of the old Walzem Chapel stand erect on the firm foundation laid in the mid-1800’s. Over the entrance to the abandoned sanctuary the engraved keystone simply reads: 1870. The roof and windows have long since disappeared, but the expertly chiseled stones bear witness to a loving craftsman.

Johann Joseph and Anna Gertruda Walzem came to Texas from Prussia around 1851. They settled in what is now known as the Mission Hills Ranch subdivision of New Braunfels. With the help of his sons, Johann built several houses and barns out of locally quarried limestone.

After eight years of farming, the State of Texas granted Walzem 160 acres through the pre-emption process. Johann dedicated one acre of the land to God, and completed the chapel in 1870. The ruins are now preserved by local homeowners who incorporated them into a neighborhood park. 

As an established Steinmetzen, Johann knew the masonry trade. Since at least 630 A.D., skilled stone masons designed and built the castles and palaces of German royalty. After the missionaries from Britain and Rome evangelized the Germanic people in the latter 7th Century, the stone masons constructed majestic cathedrals to the glory of God.

The German stone masons held themselves to high moral standards. According to the writings of British historian Robert Freke Gould, craftsmen were expected to not live in adultery, to keep Christian self-restraints, and to not squander their substance in play.

Since this profession was usually a generational family business, Johann had to break tradition to immigrate to Texas. Leaving behind a lucrative industry, Johann trusted God for success in his new life. He must have had mixed emotions as he set the stones on the Walzem Chapel. But like the builders of the great cathedrals, he leveled each layer and cemented each stone with a carefully mixed mortar. 

Being a man of the Word, Walzem probably cherished the words of Jesus, the Master builder, in Luke 6:47-48 ESV - Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

Should you visit the ruins of the Walzem Chapel in New Braunfels, take a long minute to consider that there are two ways to construct a life. The easy way is to build on a faulty foundation, using inferior materials that are destined for failure. Many build their lives in a haphazard manner only to reap disappointment and sorrow.

Or, like Walzem, you can carefully build your life the hard way, by digging a firm foundation and using quality materials of enduring value. Then when the storms of life come, as they always will, your life will remain steadfast and unshaken. That is the life Christ offers. 

--------------------------

For more inspirational reading please visit www.davidroseministries.com

To purchase the historical non-fiction book GOD and TEXAS by David G. Rose visit amazon.com