I had a "Wow" moment this morning. In order to get to that let me take you back to...oh.... the beginning of this week. We have had a lot of rain here over the past few weeks. Now, if you are in the southern parts of the States, please do not take that as a snub to you. But we have. We keep getting these huge gully washers. You in the south know what those are. Heavy deluges of sheet after sheet of rain. Needless to say, my grass has grown over those days. Problem? Well, the timing of my week has been mismatching the available moments to drag out the mower and actually cut that lush blanket of green stuff that needed to be brought under control.
So...(getting to the "wow")....I woke this morning knowing that again I would have no time to cut it this evening and knowing that tomorrow was pretty much shot and that of course Sunday is not the day of mowing but the day of musing. That leaves Monday...NO, I am taking a van load of kids to camp! So....I had the idea of seeing if my eldest child could handle the responsibility of mowing the lawn.
Caleb is now 10 and will be 11 in January. He is a responsible boy, but is he able to handle the job? I have him drag out the mower. We go through the pre-mow checklist. Gas? Check. Oil? Check. Primed? Check. What is that thing under the mower called that actually cuts the grass? "Blade, Dad." Ok, Check. What happens if you get your foot under the mower? ...you get the idea. This is serious business. Life or death in the power of a 10 year old! I gave the lecture on watching out for rocks and to not get cute while mowing. He pulls the cord, it cranks, I lecture on cutting the tall stuff and doing a good job. He takes off and as far as I know, has done a great job.
WOW!
Where has the time gone? When did my firstborn child become tall enough, strong enough, and even decisive enough to be able to handle such a job? It has been happening everyday for the past 10 years. (Pause while I grab a kleenex.)
Where is this all going? In reality, I don't know. I mean, yes, I know what I want to say here, but what is next in his life, for him as a growing young man? I don't know. That is somewhat scary, yet I have a responsibility to teach, live, and just simply allow him to expand as he is ready. Problem is....I don't want him to be ready. I want him to stay little, controllable, maintainable, and even dependent upon me. I don't want to let the rope out and let him step out, and sometimes mess up.
But the beauty of God's Word states that I have to train him and teach him, why? Because one day he will be most likely having the same conversation with his son or daughter that my father had with me. Not just about mowers, but about life, and about making wise decisions and even how to handle failures and mistakes.
I need to teach him the joy of doing it God's way and the pain that comes in trying a wrong way. I have to warn him, but in the end, I have to remember that there will be a day when I won't be there to grab him or choose for him. What then? Will he choose wisely? I hope so. I hope that there will be many more "wow" moments where I am able to see the growth, maturity, and power of God working in him.
One thing that comes to my mind in all of this is that I can't stop leading and living the kind of life before him that shows how important God is and how involved God wants to be. I want to show him, not just tell him, how wonderful God is and how special it is to be called a child of God. That it really is a "WOW" thing to be in the will and arms of a gracious, loving God.
Oh,and another thing....Now I have someone else to mow the lawn!
