God-sized Tasks

I have seen from the very beginning of parenthood that God uses my children to teach me. So many times He's reminded me through them to just sit and enjoy His company - to desire to be with Him. So, when He reminded me of that again today, it was very sweet. But, He also added something new today.

As a family, we are learning the joy of making our Christmas gifts. The girls really seem to get into choosing what to make and what materials to use. Today Angie and I spent a few minutes working on Olivia's Christmas present. Angela picked something a bit complicated, requiring a lot of sewing expertise. I knew I'd be doing most of the work, but I began from the outset thinking about things Angela could do to truly make it her project and her gift to Olivia.

Yesterday as we sat down to work on the project, I realized that several of the things that needed to be done were things that I needed to do. I was brainstorming how to include Angela in the work, but I hadn't quite figured it out yet. Almost as if she knew that there was nothing she could do right then, Angie pulled a chair up beside the sewing machine, picked up my bobbin case, and began to work on it. The bobbins were each in their own little "seat," but many of them were somewhat unwound. The result was a mess of tangled thread bunched up inside the case. So, she began to pick up the bobbins, sort out the threads, and rewind the thread around each bobbin. I did the sewing and she worked on the bobbins and we talked and we enjoyed one another's company. Today worked the same way. When she finished fixing my bobbin case, I had finished much of the work that was exclusive of her, so she went back to helping me with the sewing project itself.

The neat thing was this...she never once felt that she was uninvolved with the project at hand. It was always our project, something we were working on. She is taking great pride in it, and I know she will be very proud when Olivia opens it on Christmas morning.

When God lays a task before us, it's not usually a human-sized task. It's a God-sized one. Sometimes there will be things we can do that seem to be directly involved in the task. Sometimes there will be ways we can help work the machine, cut the threads, or remove pins. But sometimes the task before us seems to big for us to be involved in. So, God encourages us to keep our minds sharp and our hands busy while He does His work. Angie didn't run off to play or grab a book - she found something to keep her hands busy. She found something that was helpful. She knew that when I wanted to change my bobbin for another color, it would be a bit difficult because of the disarray of my bobbin case. So, she set to work. Then she gladly jumped back in when the tasks represented themselves. All the while, though, she was right there in my presence, listening and talking to me.

Our job is not to complete the task. Usually we can't even read the pattern! And if we could we might not really know what it means! Our job is to be there. To do whatever God sets before us. When nothing is before us, to prayerfully carry on with tasks we can see while we listen and soak up His presence. And when the job is done and our amazing Father says, "Well done, good and faithful servant," we can know that we truly did have a part in His work on this earth, and we truly can claim to be victorious right alongside Him!