Making Bricks

For several weeks, I have been curious about a project one of our Jicarilla Apache neighbors is undertaking in their yard. It has involved ladder-like frames such as the ones above, a large, hanging wooden-framed sifter with a screen bottom, and lots of digging. Out of respect for the Native family doing this project, I have no pictures of the actual project.

This morning on our walk, my daughter and I walked by this neighbor's house and glanced to see if the project had revealed itself yet. I still have no idea what the final project will be, but I do now know that the frames above are for making adobe bricks.

Yep. Bricks.

Handmade. Adobe.

The growing pile of bricks is impressive. I can't wait to see the final product! And now that I know they're making bricks, all the activity makes sense. Sifting the soil to remove rocks. Building the frames. Mixing water into the mud and filling the frames. Do we live in a cool place, or what?

As my daughter and I talked about the brick-making project, both of us recalled "Cowboy George" and his stories about Moses in VBS a couple of years ago. He was telling the kids about how the Israelites lived as slaves in Egypt for 400 years.

He would ask the kids, "What did the Israelites do on Mondays?"

The kids would shout, "Make Bricks!"

"What did the Israelites do on Tuesdays?"

"Make Bricks!"

"Wednesdays?"

"Make Bricks!"

And so on.

I imagine brick-making (then and now) to be a hot, dusty, dirty, exhausting activity. And like I said, I have no idea what the final product will be for my neighbors' endeavors. I'm sure it will be worth the effort!

I'll bet the Israelites had no idea what their bricks would be used for as they slaved away. And perhaps the majority of Israelites had a different duty.

At any rate, I think making bricks is a great analogy for the Christian life right now. We are not having live church services, prayer meetings, youth groups, Bible studies, or any other standard pastoral ministry. My husband is recording messages and posting links to songs and liturgy. He is contacting our congregation members to check in with them. We are providing food, prayer, and even a place to pitch a tent in the church property to those who wander by. Thankful to a few friends, we will soon be passing out cloth face masks to any and all who need them.

But it doesn't feel like much in the way of service right now. Our typical ways of serving God here are not happening due to COVID-19 restrictions from the tribe and the state... and our own desire not to be the seeding event that brought an outbreak to the reservation.

So what can a Christian do?

Make bricks.

Praise God. Praise Him for the water you drink, home you live in, food you eat, people you love, animals you love, beauty surrounding you, His love and redemption, and on and on...

Make bricks.

Serve Him. Give food to the hungry, make masks and give them away, put bottles of water outside your house for those passing by in need, buy an extra bag of potatoes and drop them on the porch of a neighbor, take dinner to the local hospital or care home, mow the church lawn, and on and on...

Make bricks.

Pray. Pray for health, pray for safety for the health care workers, pray for unity in our country, pray for your loved ones, pray for yourself, pray for your church, pray for peace in the world, pray for peace in your soul, pray for the elderly, pray for the babies, pray for those whose world will never be the same, pray for the more than 87,000 families who have lost loved ones in the United States, and on and on...

Make bricks.

Listen to Christian songs (like this one by Rhett Walker) that raise your soul, read your Bible, do an online Bible study (I study with faraway friends via the YouVersion Bible app), use online devotionals (like this one by Words of Hope), and on and on...

Make bricks, Christians, make bricks.