John R. Miles

He approaches the first massive limestone block, already positioned on the growing foundation we discussed last week.

With steady, practiced hands, he begins the application.

He spreads the mortar across the stone surface.

thick enough to fill every jagged gap and hidden fissure, yet thin enough to allow for perfect alignment.

He isn't just putting goop on a rock.

He is creating the interface where two separate entities will become a single structure.

He lifts the next block, a stone that weighs as much as a man, and he presses it down firmly.

This is the moment of truth.

The mortar squeezes out slightly at the edges.

bleeding into the light, and then it sets into the joint.

In that specific moment of pressure and release, the two stones become one.

The bond is made.

But notice what it took.

It required force, it required intention, and it required a total willingness to commit.

even when the stones resist, even when the work is back-breakingly heavy.

Without that application, the mortar remains just potential in the pit.

And friends, this is exactly where so many of us are stuck.

We have done the work of the mix.

We have the values.

We have the relationships.