Emil lived in a small village in Southern France. He was employed as a stone cutter, toiling daily at the task of reducing huge boulders to brick-size stones. Steadily he would cut and chipped with a wooden mallet at the mountain of boulders, stacking the bricks he created carefully as he went.
For twenty years Emil labored at his job, and each year he grew more and more weary of the drudgery. Chip…cut…stack, chip…cut…stack, and on it went each day.
As soon as one boulder was reduced to a brick, there stood inevitably the challenge of the next boulder. Emil was becoming overwhelmed at the never-ending task.
Recognizing Emil’s plight, his employer decided to give him a brief vacation from the monotony of his seemingly fruitless life and send him to the city for a few days of relaxation.
What a joy it was for Emil and his family. They have never been outside of their home village.
They were amazed by the traffic jams of ox-driven carts, the big stores, hordes of people at the market, and the overall activity of city life. Emil and his family reveled in the splendor of the city.
Emil’s employer had encouraged him while in the city to take his family to visit a new cathedral called The Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Emil and his family were speechless as they approached the Cathedral. Its domes reached toward the heavens. Its columns were the essence of majesty. Its overall size and beauty held them spellbound. As his family toured the great Cathedral, Emil set out to examine more closely the architectural design and construction of this magnificent facility.
There at the base of this newest cathedral in France did this stonecutter see for the first time the fruits of his labor. The very foundation of this structure were the bricks he had cut from boulders. Emil felled to his knees and thanked God for having given him a chance to be a part of this great structure.
And he returned to his job with renewed vigor. He now knew that his seemingly unimportant job was very important indeed.
Isn’t it true, it is often difficult for us to have unmistakable proof of the value of our labors.
Temporary discouragement, problems and frustrations can become overwhelming and make our efforts to appear fruitless… unless we keep our gaze on the structure we are building.
How majestic is the cathedral we are constructing in our lives?
Problems are more easily solved, adversity doesn’t deter us as quickly, courage to withstand almost any circumstance is greater, when we can see a mighty cathedral taking shape in our mind’s eye.
By using our God-given talents day in and day out, we can reduce the boulders of life to workable size bricks, giving ourselves a chance to build a our own great cathedral. Build well.
