Bob The Builder:Of Fathers and Sons

Recently, I decided to do up my basement and convert it into a home office (more like a man-cave J). My son was twice as excited about the project as I was and he offered to help me out with it. So, every night for the last two weeks when I rolled up my sleeves and went down to the basement after work, my son grabbed his toolbox as well as went down with me. The only problem with this arrangement is that my son is only four years old and the only thing he and his Bob the Builder toolbox do is get in the way.

I love my son more than anything else in the world, and I absolutely love spending time with him. His enthusiasm and dedication to the project  which haven’t waned in all of two weeks make my heart swell with love and pride (the apple really didn’t fall far from the tree) and I have no doubt that he will grow up to be a fine young man. But do I need him on my project which at this rate will probably never get finished? Nah. I actually spend more time (make that all the time) distracted by him and worrying about him getting hurt than I do on the actual work that needs to be done. Does he contribute much to the progress (progress? Haha!) of the project? Err, let’s just say he’s created a whole new project all together because now his mum is trying to get rid of the dust from the plasterboard pieces he takes into the main house. But do I want my son on this project with me? Absolutely yes! Because those precious and sometimes hair-pulling moments we spend together are the threads that build up the fabric of a father-son relationship and I won’t give them up for anything, not even a very cool home office (with all the trappings of a man-cave of course).

Sometimes, I see our relationships with God in the same light. I like to believe that God calls us to work with  Him not because He can’t get the work done some other way, maybe not even because He needs our help or input, I mean, He is God, He could as well just exhale a breath and puff, a lump of clay becomes a living man. I think He calls us to mission so we can build a relationship with Him as we work alongside Him. I think serving in whatever capacity or in whatever way shouldn’t be seen as a chore but as an opportunity to build the kind of bond that probably can’t be built in any other way and I don’t think I want to give that up for anything either.