Of Beaches and Bricks

Back from what was a truly awesome trip to Tybee Island. We had six days of absolutely perfect weather. Plus, each morning on the beach around 10:30 we watched a family of dolphins play and show off for us. Amazing.

I also realized that there must be something to this Karma thing, because I answered the question "Are We There Yet?" close to a quarter-of-a-million times on the trip there and back. Somewhere in Nashville, a mom and dad are laughing at this bit of information.

One of my favorite bloughts from the beach came from our family's trip to Savannah. My kids are crazy about horses, so we decided to take one of the city's famous horse-drawn carriage tours. When we arrived and found out the horse we'd be taking was named Luke, like my son, it seemed like fate.

The tour was outstanding. We saw the square where the beginning of Forrest Gump was filmed (when he's waiting to catch the bus), Paula Dean's kitchen, and a ton of other interesting sites in the city. Part of this was because Luke (the horse) wasn't the quickest of steeds. In fact, our tour guide informed us that his nickname was "Luke SlowWalker" becuase he would take 90 minutes to do an hour tour.

At that point, Luke (my son) begins saying loudly "I want that girl to stop talking." in reference to our tour guide. (Oh what comes from the mind and mouth of a two year old.) Fortunately, the tour guide didn't stop talking, because she soon shared a story I'll never forget.

We took a turn onto Jones Street, a small cobble-stoned road that she said was one of the country's most prominent streets of its time. So prominent, that it is thought the phrase "Keeping Up With The Joneses" came from this area. She pointed out some of the bricks used in the buildings. "Savannah Grey Bricks" or "Savannah Greys" were made by the labor of the day: slaves. Some of the bricks in the buildings still have the fingerprints of the plantation slaves that worked on them embeded into their surface.

The interesting thing was, during the time that these buidlings were being constructed the locals didn't deem the bricks made by these slaves as worthy of being in their homes. So they imported from England small red bricks that were much more expensive and harder to produce. Becuase they had the money to do it, and because those bricks weren't made by slaves. But today, these small red bricks are a dime a dozen. Whereas the Savannah Greys are one of the most treasured items on the antique market. In fact, our guide said that one Savannah Grey brick would fetch at least $300 on eBay, while a standard red brick that "the Joneses" deemed so valuable can be bought for under $1 at any Home Depot across America.

It struck me that this story painted a great picture of what God does for you and I. Sometimes the bricks we work on every day aren't seen as worthy in a culture that values flash and newness and celebrity. But the simple, but vital, work of offering forgiveness, being patient, loving our neighbors and following the example of Christ has monumental value in the eyes of our Father. Because it's through these small but important acts of love and kindness that the Kingdom of God gets built...brick by brick. And like the Savannah Greys made by those slaves, the value of our work will only appreciate in time.