Patience and Stonecutting

The stonecutter wishes to split a rock.  After choosing the right tool, he strikes his hammer at an exact, pre­determined spot on the huge boulder.  The blow was not arbitrary or random; he hits precisely at a specific point de­termined after much study and analysis.  But nothing happens.  The stonecutter strikes again. No change.  The stone does not split.

The stonecutter slams his hammer down again.  And again and again. Nothing.  Not even a dent or chip in the rock’s surface.  His expression is stoic.  No worry or confusion.  His expression is one of knowing— a faith in himself, his tools, and the laws of the physical world that govern the splitting of large rocks.  100 blows. 200 blows.  The rock simply shows no sign of any change, much less breaking in two.  But the stonecutter persists.

Then, on the 357th strike, after 356 hits to a rock at exactly the same point without even a chip or a scratch, the large boulder splits in two.

What would have happened if the stonecutter quit after five hits, or ten, or one hundred?  Wouldn’t it have been so easy for the stonecutter to say, “This rock is too tough, I better pick another one.” Or maybe, “I must’ve chosen the wrong hammer.”  Or, “The spot I picked is wrong. I better choose another spot to hit.”  If the stonecutter kept second guessing himself and changed his technique, tool or focus, the rock would never, ever split.

When we know our objective and have formulated a plan to achieve that objective, it is imperative that we stick with it.  Don't quit!  Just because the results do not come right away does not mean that we are on the wrong track!

We should expect the miracle, but prepare ourselves for a trial of faith.

For faith precedes the miracle.

Not the other way around.