If we only knew as much as we think we do...

Sometimes, people make me laugh.  I can't help it.  We're a bunch of funny folks.

I had a good day.  I had the opportunity to teach young son something and learned something about myself.  When I showed up at their house today, the lawn was in bad need of being mowed and while I was getting some stuff back from my middle son who'd cleaned out the truck, I noticed their lawnmower had a bent wheel.  A badly bent wheel.

I love my son to pieces.  I do.  But I know he gets a little discouraged from time to time and it's hard to make yourself do things when you find yourself there.  I was mad that he hadn't done what he was supposed to and told his mom to make him do it after school or I'd come down and put my foot in his butt and make him motivated.  I thought about that on the way home and decided instead of yelling at my son, maybe the best thing I could do was to help him.  Not push him, or holler at him, but just be there side by side.

I'm so grateful to God for helping me to see that.  I'd like to take credit for thinkin' this one up, but nope, it was being led by the Holy Spirit to a place where I think God wants us all to be.  My son saw something he doesn't see often because we're not as close as I'd like us to be.  He saw someone just understand his problems, see that they mattered, and felt like someone actually cared about how he felt.

You have to give credit where credit is due, and I learned a great deal about being a parent today. And I can't explain how I even got there.  Heck, I even unloaded the mower over at my mom/sister's house and tackled their jungle of a front yard.  I'd still be there if I hadn't run out of daylight.

It was funny to watch my son.  He wasn't thrilled, but I had him help me hook the mower deck up to the tractor.  I wanted him to drive it but he was a bit sheepish about that.  He trimmed and used my mower to do the edges.  But the tractor took a hard job and turned it into and easy one and the faster he saw things getting done, the more enthused he was about finishing up.  When I left he was cleaning up the sidewalk and you could see a smile where there had been grumpiness before.  It was pretty neat to see the transformation.

I'm glad I bonded with my son.  I think his mom was happy to see it, too.  When I left I gave him a hug, and was asked by my ex if she could have one too.  She was just being a smart-ass, and equally, so was I.  I told her no because I didn't want her getting the wrong idea.  I mentioned that part of the afternoon because I don't want anyone else getting the wrong idea, either.

I wanted to bring the truck home and run my errands, do my own yard work, get some compost for the flower beds and saw down a stump that doesn't need to be part of my landscaping anymore.  My day turned out quite differently.  It's funny, too, because all day I just felt kind of flat, kind of like I was just going through the motions.  In looking back on it now, God was there with me, every step of the way.

I think I understand a little more about what Jesus really meant when He washed the disciples' feet.  I just never saw that practical lesson coming from my seventeen year old son.