Sidewalk Chalk

My children love to play with sidewalk chalk.  Recently, they have been all about drawing roads.  It's sort of funny to draw a road on top of our driveway, but there are often several there, along with Vince and Anna's names printed in large, block letters.

I'm not totally sure why they like to draw with chalk so much.  Maybe it is because they get to draw much bigger than you can on a standard sheet of  8.5 by 11 inch paper.  I think a lot is due to the fact that it feels more permanent than drawing on paper.

When you are five or six years old, a good portion of the things you draw end up in the trash or, recycling bin.  But when you draw on the sidewalk or driveway, it is there -- fixed like the pyramids -- at least until it rains again.

There is inside of humans a desire to leave something behind that is visible and worthwhile.  In ancient times, these were often tombs and Pharaohs worked on the pyramids that entombed them for years prior to their deaths.

The book of Ecclesiastes speaks of a man who attempted to leave a mark behind for posterity.  He invested of himself in pleasure, in wisdom, and in building.  In the end, he describes all of it as empty, vanity, a blowing of the wind.

So it is that of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only one (the pyramids) can still be seen today.  In the end, all the works of humankind are but chalk drawings on sidewalk of time.

This is only to say that there are other things -- not valued by the powerful of this world -- that will last.

It is about giving and not building, it is about mercy and not strength, it is about love for those who deserve it least.  Jesus showed us by His example and though He built no tower and wrote no books, what He did has changed the world forever.