A Little Story from Dad (September 9, 2021)

 Hello Elders Baird,

Hopefully the pics come through ok.  I wanted to share a little story about the fire pit.  Stick with it to the end if you can.

Take a close look at the picture.  You can see multiple layers of stones.  It may be hard to appreciate, but the stones were all different sizes and thicknesses.  This means each pass around wasn't perfectly level, and it was like a puzzle without instructions.  As the circular wall grows, often portions of it are higher than others.  Using different size and thickness of stones, the puzzle is put together.  The mortar helps a little to level it out and account for height differences as it can be either a bit thicker or a bit thinner depending on the situation.  But you can't make up all the differences with just mortar--it takes careful placement of stones.

Now, you are probably amazed and impressed by my mad skills to get it to look as good as it does.  I can't blame you because the finished product turned out fantastically.  The process almost killed me having to be hunched over the whole time, bending and stooping, mixing mortar, etc., etc.  But in the end, I was victorious and we have spent the past 2 nights around it, enjoying the warmth and pleasant glow. (Tonight I turned it up full blast again and singed Jaycie's knee hairs.  I told her you're welcome, now she doesn't have to shave them).  It is a new jewel and gathering place in the backyard.

It's important to know a few more details about the process that makes it all the more interesting.  See, at the beginning, there are a bunch of stones to choose from (as you can see in the pictures).  This means that if a weird little space arises, there's probably a stone to fill it.  I didn't cut any of the stones, but found ways to piece them all together to fit.  The further along you get in a project like this, the fewer stones and fewer options exists to create a well constructed and beautiful structure as well as to be able to level out irregularities.  I knew I had to be careful along the way to not use all of one shape or size of stone, but by the end, the options were diminished and I wasn't sure if it was all going to work out to have a level and beautifully finished project.

Here's the punchline in this whole story (hopefully you're still reading this).  I prayed at the beginning that I could get this thing made and things were going well.  I had a deadline--Sarah's party at 5 pm--and I got started early enough that I expected to be done on time.  However, around 2:30 pm, I had run out of mortar, and I had run out of strength.  I wasn't sure how I was going to get it done, plus get everything cleaned up in time (it's a pretty messy project).  I had to lay down because I really couldn't stand anymore.  My back was killing me.  My muscles were on fire.  (Fortunately I got to talk to Caden for a bit while I tried to re-energize.)  I finally found the strength to go buy another 80 lb bag of mortar (that's really heavy btw) and brought it home.  I almost dropped it multiple times going from the car to the wheel barrow to mix it with water.  I was spent and not sure how this would end.

It was just before 4 pm by then--1 hour before showtime.  I surveyed it all--the stones I had left, the circle that had been built to that point, the sun beating down on me (the canopy wasn't really in the right place by then to shade the area), my fatigued body--and I wasn't sure I could do it.  I dug deep and then prayed earnestly, sincerely and maybe even a bit desperately for help.  

I can't really claim the last 2.5 passes on the fire ring as my own work because they came together in a miraculous way.  I'd go far enough to say that the Lord built it with my hands.  The last 1.5 passes went down perfectly.  0.5 of a layer was to simply get the unevenness corrected, then the second to last pass was to create a solid layer that the last layer of cap stones could be placed upon to create a beautiful, finished look everyone would see.  I had no more strength to think and little left to mix the mortar, lift the stones and place them correctly.  But it was like my body just moved and I grabbed the right stone for the right place and the right amount of mortar for the stone without even thinking.  I can't explain it other than it was as if someone else was guiding me very precisely.  It may not seem like that big a deal, but to me it was a miracle and tender mercy.

Could I do it again if I had to?  Maybe.  Probably with enough time and effort.  But there's no way I could finish it as quickly and precisely as I did again without some divine intervention.  

This seems like a parable of sorts, although it happened in real life.  If Heavenly Father is interested enough and willing to help me with a little backyard project to make Sarah's un-homecoming party special, He's way more interested in helping you two in the work of salvation you are engaged in.  Or maybe it's your own version of a "fire pit"--some project you are working on.  I hope you're speaking with Him frequently, both in formal kneeling prayer and in regular conversations on the go.  

I have no doubt that involving Heavenly Father in the details of our lives leads to unexpected results.  In other words, either He helps me accomplish what I envisioned (but may not have been actually capable of doing), or He makes it turn out even better than I could have imagined.  And, I believe He'll do that for any of His children who sincerely turn to Him and ask.

Hope you enjoyed the story.

Love,

Dad