Thursday, March 26, 2015

Kids, Chores, and God

Nolan is at the age where he loves to help me with chores, no matter what it is that I am doing. "Daddy, can I help?" is a question I hear almost every day from him. If I had all the time in the world, I would have him help me with everything that I do, not only because I love his natural curiosity and desire to learn, but also because I simply love being with him.

However, when I include Nolan in whatever chore that I am doing (i.e., unloading the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, folding laundry, etc.), it almost always takes much longer than if I just did it myself. Since he is four years old, it takes time to teach him, reteach him, train him, practice with him, watch him, talk him through it, and then once we are finished doing it together, I often need to redo it all myself anyway if I need it done correctly. If I include my son with my work, it always takes longer, and the work is never done perfectly.

This is just like our Father in heaven. I visualize God looking down on us, seeing all the pain in the world and Him working in the lives of the people all across the city. However, the awesome thing about God is that He actually includes us in his work! God doesn't need us to help. He could get His work done a lot sooner if He didn't include us in the work He is doing in our city. We make mistakes when we help Him, but He is patient and talks us through it. Sometimes He just watches us and sees how we do on our own. And most importantly, we can talk to Him through the process. He listens to us and speaks into our lives. God is our Daddy who lets us help Him with His work.

The best part is that Nolan thinks he is actually helping me with my chores! It's hilarious! When I tell him we are finished, I say "thanks so much for helping" and he skips away with a big grin on his face. He is certainly doing his best, but is that really making a difference from my perspective? No way! I just love being with him, and it's the same with God. Am I really making a difference in the work that God is doing? Not at all. He just loves being with me.

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