Oh No! Not Again!
As the weather forecast started talking about snow in early November followed by a turn toward cold temperatures, I feared a repeat of last year where winter started early and the snow came and stayed before I was done with everything. So Wednesday turned into a sprint to the finish on outside projects. One of those projects is taking the mower deck of the tractor and putting on the snowblower.
When I inherited my Dad’s Kubota, I had to get a friend (thank you Nick) to teach me how to do work because I had never done it with my Dad, having moved out on my own long before he bought the tractor. Now that I know how to do it, I can take care of it pretty easily each spring and fall. This year, however, I decided it was time for my oldest son to learn it too, so I had him help me. I could do the work just fine without him, but I enjoyed teaching him and spending the time with him while we worked together. It made the job much better.
When it comes to “Serving the Lord” I have had the idea that I am working for God. I am serving Him, doing His work and accomplishing things for Him. This mindset means that I must be faithful, I must do a good job, I must live up to my responsibilities. If that concept doesn’t produce enough pressure and even stress on its own, then there is the problem of my weaknesses and mistakes. My humanity gets in my way and I don’t serve Him as well as I should. I don’t always do the job as well as it ought to be done.
This year God has been dealing with me on this and teaching me a better understanding of how He relates to me and what my relationship with Him means. He has shown me that the work of the ministry is truly His work and He is doing it. He has allowed me to help Him, not because He needs help or can’t do the job on His own, but because He likes to teach me and He likes to spend time with me. (He did, after all, die so that I could be with Him). He is fully capable in His wisdom and power, to build His kingdom, but He has chosen to bring me along and let me learn to do the work too. He wants to work alongside me and share the work in a way that bonds Him and me together.
This is such a different way of viewing my day to day life as a servant of God. Rather than thinking that it all rests on me, to my pride or my pain, I realize that I am called to faithfully work alongside the Master as He builds His kingdom and works in people’s lives. He takes joy in teaching me and allowing me to help Him. This makes me less lonely, less fearful of my inadequacy, and reminds me that God is not a distant taskmaster, but an ever-present Father.
I am thankful for my son, and for God allowing me to be a Dad so I can learn what it means to be His child.