Daddy’s Little Helper

When I was a child, one of my favorite things was helping my dad fix stuff. He had a workshop at the house, and was always tinkering with something. But usually, the extent of my assistance was simply holding the flashlight. In hindsight, I was probably just in the way. But I thought I was the biggest helper. Dad and I fixed the toilet. Dad and I repaired the faucet. Dad and I changed the oil. No matter how small my part-to-play was, it was still both of us, collectively, who fixed it.

I vividly remember one occasion where Dad “needed” my help changing the oil in the car.
“I wanna take off the drain plug, Daddy,” I said.
“No, you can’t. It’s too hard. But you’ll be a big help to me if you hold the light steady.”
“I wanna take off the filter, Daddy.”
“No, you can’t. It’s too hard. Just hold the light steady for me.”
“Daddy, can I pour the oil in?”
“No, you might spill it. The cartons are too heavy for you. Hold the light and I’ll do it.”

Finally, as we were finishing the job, I frustratingly asked, “Am I going to be able to get my hands dirty at all?” My dad laughed, and replied, “Son, you’ve been a great help to me today. Without you holding the light, I wouldn’t have been able to see what I was doing.” We cleaned up the tools, and I noticed the bucket of used oil, still warm and steaming from the engine. I shoved both hands in and shouted, “Look Dad! I got my hands dirty!” He couldn’t help but laugh! And then he escorted me inside so I wouldn’t get oil on anything.

I remembered this story about a month ago. Katrina and the kids were still here. The washing machine in the kitchen was acting up, and I was inspecting it to see what was wrong. Christopher, who just turned three in October, asked if he could help me work on the washer. I immediately replied “no” without even thinking. It kind of bummed him out, but he went on playing with his fire truck.

I never did figure out what was wrong with that washing machine; I gave up after two or three minutes. But later in the day my conscience started talking to me about this. I began to ponder how God treats us when we want to help. How can this be applied to my spiritual walk? First of all, I’d like to be a dad some day, and my response to Christopher wasn’t very “Dadly.” Or even “Uncle-ly,” for that matter. You’re supposed to walk in love, and love “Is not rude” (I Corinthians 13:4-5 NLT).

Secondly, God lets us help. He has a great destiny for all of us, and sometimes we try to jump in and help God get it done. We figure He either forgot about it or we’re certain His timing is a lot further off than we’d like it to be. So we attempt to make it happen. He never tells us we can’t help, though. In fact, He asks us to. He invites us over to watch Him work, and even to get our hands dirty if we want to!

I couldn’t have changed the oil in that car when I was three. And Dad would never have left me out there all alone to try and figure it out. He was right there with me the whole time, doing practically all the work. There is no way you can do all God has called you to by yourself; it will have to be God doing it. But He needs your help; He needs you to hold the Light, the Word of God.

Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)
I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

You’re being a great help to God’s work in your life when you keep the Word in front of you.

~Jonathan

February 12th, 2007 · Back to Top · Tagged: Articles

Zeal

A story about my life as a missionary in Thailand.

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