Cobblestones and me. -Pablo

These cobblestone streets are a work of art.   Hundreds of thousands of unique yet similarly sized rocks, all with flat surfaces create these streets.  This "art" is utilized every day by thousands of people in cars, on motorcycles, and by foot.   In the seven weeks we have been here, and considering the miles we must have walked so far, I have often thought about the intentionality of these charming roadways.

One must concentrate when walking on these roads.   Although it's a flat road (sort of) you have to watch every step.   There are places where it has settled unevenly, or there is a rock turned sideways, or even a stone that is completely gone.  Some parts I have walked over have all the stones there, but it's missing all the filler in between, the grout is all washed out.  Its careful walking for everyone and then you see some lady in really high heels and you think that is just crazy.

As you walk around the town you come across areas where they are repairing these rough spots of the road.  It's here you can see the intentionality in what they are maintaining. First the men chip and chisel out a 1 x 1 square yard, remove the rocks, dig out the sand and rubble, down to the base layer.   Then they recreate what they just dug up by placing the stones meticulously into a pattern that matches the surrounding cobblestone.  Next they use a sand mixture to fill in the spaces and make the road flat.  And finally they use a wood ramming tool to pound and settle the cobblestones in place.   This laborious process is evidence of the deliberate choice to choose "character and charm" over the convenience of the quicker process of paving.

The craft of these cobblestone roads, which were designed as an improvement over dirt roads (and the muddy ones during the rainy season) also brought a distinct charm to this colonial town.   Kudos to Antigua for intentionally keeping these streets as they were, keeping the beauty as well as the function.

Independence Day Parade on Sept. 15

In a way we are not so different than these stones.   We are individuals, yet we are part of a larger mosaic.  "In the beginning was the Word." "And the Word became flesh" and all things are created for his glory.  Jesus has a plan for each of us; a place in his mosaic.

Many times I am like the rock who is trying to do it by myself,  alone on the side of the road.  This creates a hole in the road, a gap in the pattern of what is good and God's design.   I'll find myself  trying to do something out on the edge and as it turns out, it's  just a rock on the sidewalk; something not very useful and maybe endangering others.

Sometimes God uses situations (good or bad) to rearrange a section of the mosaic, like the repair men who take it apart to make it better.  It can be a painful process but it's a good one.  I trust that God is good and all things are created for his glory.  The reworking of the cobblestone and the reworking of my heart are therefore good and pleasing to him.  The process is life long, like the repairs of cobblestones roads, and sometimes  stones have to be rearranged to follow God's design. But hang on the knowledge that it is for the greater good, the big picture, for God's cobblestone mosaic.              

So when I let go of me, and see more of him, I am able to see a big, big mosaic.   There is a perfect place in the mosaic for each of us.  We are created for it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared       beforehand, that we should walk in them.     Ephesians 2:10

So let us trust in God completely, walk with him daily, and intentionally be a part of the cobblestone street Jesus created.  A beautiful, dynamic, functioning mosaic.