One Brick At A Time
I say this statement to myself all the time but it only seems to last for a very brief period of time until whatever is bothering me starts smoldering again. When we worry about the really hard and big stuff it feels as though it strangles us. It hits us so hard because we feel helpless in doing something about the problem. Being too large for us to make a dent we either quit thinking about it or we remain frustrated and keep worrying about what seems impossible for us to achieve.
As you look out into the world you see so many humongous problems and it appears to be no way to solve them. Take as an example the plight of the poor, homeless, abused, disenfranchised, marginalized, downcast, drug abuse, the rise in crime, and the like. We have so many major issues worldwide that we alone cannot solve without intervention by God. Since most of these issues have existed throughout our history it does not appear that a fix is in progress. So what do you do? Do you continue to worry about such improbable things that you alone cannot fix or do you just try to stop worrying about them? This is when I have to tell myself that fixing huge problems is done one brick at a time and I should be happy with the one brick once I have accomplished it.
Even though I cannot solve worldwide hunger I can feed one hungry person or beggar on the street. Many of them have mental or perhaps dependency issues so rather than giving them cash why not offer to buy them a happy meal? If they refuse then it was not hunger for food that they were seeking. I was passing by a beggar outside a food place that asked me for some spare change to buy food. I told him that I would be happy to take him inside and pay for an order of food for him and he agreed so that is what we did. That was my one brick out of the world hunger situation and I was happy with my one brick. Rather than continuing to worry about the really big stuff just do one thing that aids the situation and be content that you were able to do that one thing.
For months I drive by this lady that sleeps on a bus stop bench night after night and it bothers me. I have no idea what I can do but seeing this lady sleeping out in the elements night after night even in the cold of winter seems unbearable for most people. How she does it is unimaginable. I wonder when and where does she eat or shower or use the bathroom and do other human necessities. Apparently she is functioning because night after night she is there still alive. Most mornings I go walking just prior to four a.m. and I pass by this lady at that time. I always look over to that bench to see if she is still there… rarely is she not there. I say a prayer for her asking the Lord to do what He can do for this lady but nothing seems to change so I continue to worry, continue to pray, and for some reason, I cannot let this matter go. I can’t figure out the one brick that would make me feel good about contributing to this particular matter.
Many homeless people are mentally disturbed. Some have found a place in their minds where they have accepted their condition. Apparently they have accepted the fact that they are homeless, beggars, and all the conditions that go with being homeless so they don’t appear to be as worried about their situations as much as we might worry for them. This is not a cop-out but a reality. I lose sleep worrying about this one lady and she is fast asleep nightly in her same spot. All I can offer to her at this time is my sincere prayers because if my God does not help her then what can a mortal being like me do? Perhaps the Lord put this on my plate to keep me grounded in Him knowing that I have to continue praying for this lady. I have no idea how the mind of God works but I do know that my prayers are sincere and that I do care about this lady that I don’t even know. My heartfelt prayers might be my one brick so I should let go and let God! Yet I can’t let go.
As an African American born in the deep south in 1949 I have experienced discriminatory practices for all of my life. Racism is something that black people must learn to deal with because it is something that is too large to tackle and fix. No one likes being treated as inferior. You never get over it but you must find a way to live and carry on with your life. Ultimately you deal with that feeling on the back burner for as much as you can without allowing it to corrupt you from the inside. However, when you are mistreated or someone disrespects you it causes an eruption of anger from holding back those feelings. At such times you either risk doing something really horrible that could cause legal problems or you vent your anger verbally and move on. What you cannot do is allow the anger to burn you out causing you to be a corrupted human being. We are commanded to live and to love one another. Anger does not help us to remain godly. Rather than risk upsetting God we must let it go. God will deal with those that oppress His people at the appropriate time.
Over the past few decades, I have taken on several home improvement projects that I decided to do on my own. Even though they were fairly large projects that required a lot of time and afford I was willing to take on the projects and do most of the manual labor when possible with the aid of someone that actually knew what they were doing. Each of the projects required a step-by-step process from laying out the initial plans to purchasing all the necessary supplies and then going through each of the necessary steps of the building process until completion. You might say it was one brick at a time; one nail at a time; one bag of cement at a time; or one slat of a fence at a time. Each of my projects could only be completed by doing one thing at a time. It is like that statement about how do you eat an elephant… one bite at a time. It just takes a lot of bites.
So as life comes at you fast and furiously you have to use this analogy of one brick at a time or you will worry yourself to death over things that you alone cannot achieve. A scripture that says that is; “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Now that I am older and wiser I try to stay out of God’s lane and do only what I can with the plate that is laid before me. Though it is hard not to worry I know that God is my sufficiency and that alone has to be good enough for me. Selah!
One brick at a time; one day at a time; one step at a time; one bite at a time; eventually you will get the idea…
