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A Pathway of Living Stones

April/May 2011 The “praise patio” that I envisioned was a big project. I wasn't ready to move forward, but a pathway from the front of the house to the back seemed a safe start. It was a fairly inexpensive DIY project, a way to put my toe into untested waters; but I had no idea of the hard work that lay ahead or how long it would take.


As the “path maker”, I had a plan. The path would start at the driveway, curve around the side, and lead up to the back gate. Rock borders would create planting beds on either side . It seemed simple enough, but, working alone, it was laborious and time-consuming.


First, I removed the grass and leveled the ground. I bought an assortment of sandstone from the clearance section of a local landscape supply, loading and unloading them into my little Mazda pickup. The next step was to place the rocks on either side that would contain the decomposed granite (DG). After the two borders were in place, I installed weed block fabric, then spread wheelbarrow after endless wheelbarrow of DG, which is very heavy. My pickup could only carry ¼ cubic yard at a time. I lost count of how many pickup loads it took, maybe five, maybe eight.

First step: kill the grass. There are several ways to do it like covering with cardboard, black plastic, etc. but I wanted faster results. I gave away the St Augustine and used a grass killer on the Bermuda. After about two weeks, I dug most of the dead grass up, which was probably not necessary. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't come up although now I know it probably wouldn't have with weed block and 4 inches of granite. Weeds grow in the top layer, they don't come up from the ground if they get no sunlight.
First step: kill the grass. There are several ways to do it like covering with cardboard, black plastic, etc. but I wanted faster results. I gave away the St Augustine and used a grass killer on the Bermuda. After about two weeks, I dug most of the dead grass up, which was probably not necessary. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't come up although now I know it probably wouldn't have with weed block and 4 inches of granite. Weeds grow in the top layer, they don't come up from the ground if they get no sunlight.

After the path was filled with four inches of the DG, rake it smooth, wet it, and tamp it down using a heavy tamper (I used a manual one).  Each task was bone-tiring hard work. It was repetitive, methodical, and a great strength-building exercise. The rocks weren’t unmanageable, but they were heavy. My arms were sore, but my soul was stirred.


Side yard before I began, 2010
Side yard before I began, 2010
Side yard in 2025
Side yard in 2025

Maybe I was more particular than necessary in choosing the rocks, but the slow, deliberate process stirred up internal conversations…and the rocks spoke to me. They

Coming around from the front. You can see a pile of rock by the wheelbarrow and others laying on the ground. I made several trips to the landscape supply and bought clearance. Path was close to halfway complete.
Coming around from the front. You can see a pile of rock by the wheelbarrow and others laying on the ground. I made several trips to the landscape supply and bought clearance. Path was close to halfway complete.

had to fit together tightly to hold the DG in its place and keep the soil in the planting beds from spilling into the path. Strewn across the yard were various shapes and sizes of rocks to choose from. Depending on its own unique characteristics, each was specially selected, by me, to fit a particular spot. I turned it this way and that to find just the right position. How did it match up with its neighbor? Did it curve out, in, or was it straight? Its shape determined the curve of the path. Every stone was important, none “better” than another. Each had its place and function, and each was necessary to form the unified whole.

Each was specially selected, by me, to fit a particular spot. I turned it this way and that to find just the right position.
Each was specially selected, by me, to fit a particular spot. I turned it this way and that to find just the right position.

 As I worked, I thought about how much we, his special creation, are like those stones. In his grand design, “...God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” (1Cor. 12:18-21, NIV) Each of us is unique and has particular attributes that fit somewhere in God’s plan. Were these particular rocks fulfilling God’s plan for them? I wondered.


Sometimes I had to chip away bits of stone for a better fit. As small pieces broke off under the hammer’s pressure, my mind wandered to how God uses the pressures of life to shape me. Just as I shaped the stone to fit the spot I had for it, God shapes me to suit His purposes.

Sometimes I had to chip away bits of stone for a better fit. Fortunately, sandstone is fairly easy to work with and shape.
Sometimes I had to chip away bits of stone for a better fit. Fortunately, sandstone is fairly easy to work with and shape.

Maybe if rocks could talk they would complain, fussing about where I placed them and having pieces chipped off. They might insist on seeing the entire pathway, not content with resting in their place. But the rocks were quiet and cooperative in my hand. They didn’t jump away from the hammer or resist where I placed them. It would have made my work impossible.

Working with the rock reminded me that the Lord of my pathway has a plan for me, and the pain and discomfort of his shaping is necessary and purposeful. I came away with a new appreciation for diversity, the uniqueness of each person, and adversity, and a deeper peace settled in my soul.


It took about seven months to finish the pathway, working alone on weekends and after work. Soon after I started, I decided to take the plunge and have concrete poured, the next part of the tale. The pathway was half finished when the work on the pergola and gate began August 2011. I finished the pathway in November.


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