It has been a long time since I interacted with my father, brother, and sister in more than a holiday or family event short visit mode. Working on the homestead (I was a contractor for twenty years) to prepare it for my sister’s family to move in has been interesting. My brother commented today while we where at Home Depot picking up a new front door and a sample section of laminate flooring that it was hard for my sister not to treat the work (which we are all contributing to) as her’s, on her house. As four adults, one who is the father, we each have our beliefs and opinions about how things should be done, but since my sister will be living there she has a larger stake in how things fit for her.
I believe that if we keep the focus on the needs of my father and how we can make it easier on my sister’s family to live there, things will work out without too many hassles. It has been a learning experience for me to take something of a back seat and give in on a lot of the issues that come up. Being the eldest, my dad tends to look to my opinion at times, but I have had to throttle back my tendency to take control and just be there to help as much as possible. My brother has borne the load of taking care of dad for the last year or so, so I consider whatever I can do over the next month or two as my contribution, since I live the farthest away and cannot be there to help on a regular basis.
Paul talked in 1 Timothy 5:4 about how children should “learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.” I consider interacting with a servant heart to my sister and brother, trying to maintain a positive environment, part of showing piety at home and my work efforts to remodel the house, as well as just spending time with dad as part of repaying my father for his work for me as I grew up.
This is a unique time in my life and it holds terrific opportunities for both spiritual and relational growth. My daily prayer is that God gives me the necessary resources to grow in both areas over the coming weeks. Remember me in your prayers on this Lord’s Day as I can use all of the help I can get. Grace and peace.
