Building Blocks

Cassidy and I spent an evening this week building with blocks. Over the past several years, I’ve discovered that deep inside many individuals lies a quest to build. With the help of our family and friends, Amy and I have built two houses. The church we attend has built several buildings. The school I work at wishes to build a new school. Throughout history, man has built cathedrals, stadiums, skyscrapers, towers, arches, pyramids, and space stations. And yet, the glory of it all, indeed the wonder of it all, can be captured in something as simple as building with good, old-fashioned blocks. We carefully separate out the different kinds, plan our magnificent structure, and painstakingly place each one ever-so-carefully in its own, unique little place. And the moment the last one is seated, the structure is complete. The wonder is, at last, displayed in all its beauty. Then, with a might and swift blow, Cassidy brings it all tumbling to the ground in a crash. The once magnificent structure is diminished to the mundane clutter from which it first arose. As if on cue, the blocks go back to their pale, where they patiently await another night when they will once again come to life, and rise up like the mighty fiery Phoenix from its ashes of Greek legend.