I love working in my shop, it’s kind of like my fortress of solitude. I take my oversized cup of hot tea, surround myself with tools and sawdust and listen to the dull hum of the florescent lights. I can get lost out there for hours working on different projects or just cleaning and organizing the tools so that they are ready for the next job. I have had some of my best conversations with God while sanding a dresser or building a chicken coup, yet somehow, I feel guilty for being out there.
The trouble is that I have a hard time with big pictures, by that I mean, I could be using my time to help the homeless or raising funds for starving children but I am wasting my time tinkering in my shop. Helping the orphans and the widows is surely more important that getting a nice finish on an old vanity isn’t it? Couldn’t I talk with God on my own time? These things play through my mind often, but this week, a visit from my brother helped me put some of these feelings in perspective.
My brother Grayson and I used to build things all the time when we were younger. From light sabers to racecar tracks, it seemed like we were always working on a project. Having him around this week to help me with some jobs that needed to be done before Christmas, really brought back those memories and it also gave us a chance to have some personal and meaningful conversations. The shop brought us together again. This brought to mind one of my wife’s favorite scriptures. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,” 1 Thessalonians 4:11. This verse has always confused me, because it did not seem like Jesus led a very quiet life; that is until I consider that the biography of Jesus does not include the years he spent as a carpenter. That’s right, Jesus had shop time. I wonder how many good conversations Jesus had with his father Joseph or his brothers while sanding down a table or polishing a chair. I wonder what sort of peace working with his hands brought him while he had conversations with his Heavenly Father. Could following Jesus really include learning to build things quietly in your shop? If we are to follow after the life of our King, then it might do us all well to remember what sort of man Jesus was through his life and not shy away from the quiet life. - Christopher Ingersoll
2 comments:
How insightful, Christopher, and very helpful for me.I have a few years on you but I admire your wisdom and maturity. We don't know much about the life Jesus led; I'm sure what we read in Scripture isn't the totality of who He was.
People who don't like being alone are usually uncomfortable with themselves. In my heart I know God's greatest men took time for solitude. How else, for example, could David have composed all those wonderful Psalms? Jesus would wander off (seems rather often) to be alone with the Father.
When you're alone with your tools, I'll bet there are times when your thought turn heavenward regardless of the project you may be working on.
When I'm alone is the time when I feel the closest to God.
Thanks for the post.
If God didn't want us to spend time on quiet life things, tinkering, putzing, building, then he sure made a funny world that needs a lot of it.
In all seriousness. Sure seems like its a good thing. Even Paul made nets, I sure hope his testimony with other tent makers wasn't "that guy throws his stuff together all haberdash, sells that crap for too much, then rushes off to talk about his 'god'."
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