Brick by brick

My late paternal grandfather was a brick mason, and while I don’t remember too many of the brick walls he built, I know that he passed along that skill to my own father, who worked in brick and mortar just as easily as he worked with pencils and ink for his illustrations. And I’m sure that my grandfather taught my father the importance of mortar in a brick wall. For without mortar, a brick wall has no strength, and can be easily pushed over.  

I have a dear friend who is facing challenges that tax her physical body, but despite these challenges, her spirit is indomitable. Even with her somewhat gloomy prognosis, she radiates a joy, a sense of calm, a peace, all of which is a testament to her faith in a loving God. And as my wife and I chatted with her recently, this verse came to my mind:

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” – 2nd Corinthians 12:9

I was struck at how this verse is illustrated in a brick wall. We all have strengths in our lives – areas that we have great gifts and talents. Those gifts and talents are the bricks of our own personal wall. But just as we have those strengths, we have weaknesses as well. Perhaps they are, like my dear friend, physical weaknesses. Maybe they are weaknesses in our spirit, manifested in a loss of hope or a cloud of depression. Maybe our weakness is in our lack of self-control when it comes to substances that can muddle up our mind and negatively influence our judgment.

But you see, that’s where the mortar comes in. For the bricks in our lives, no matter how well we set them up in a row, can easily be toppled unless the Mortar of God is set between those bricks. For you see, until we allow the Master Bricklayer to set our row straight to the line, level and plumb, and properly set out bricks with mortar, our walls will not bear the winds of life that threaten to topple them.  

Our weakness is perfected in His Strength. And for my dear friend, who has allowed the Master Bricklayer to set the bricks and mortar of her life, she has a strength that I marvel at. May the Master Bricklayer set my walls and build them strong, able to withstand the winds and forces that strive to topple it.