Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
-2 Chronicles 30:12

As I was considering what to write about today, I could hear my 13 year old son bantering with his mother in the background. It came to mind to ask him what I should write about today. At first, he looked lost and surprised. But then, he rose to the challenge and, after a minute or two, came up with the word 'unity'. So, he went to scripture and found a scripture about unity and said to write about that. I thought that was a great idea.

All of a sudden, it hit me: He really enjoyed the fact that I let him be a part of the process. There we were, father and son unified in endeavor, working together on something that would, ultimately, take a brick from the house of fatherly mistakes I've built and place it in the new house, using the mortar of the word of God as its bonding power. During that brief moment there was no contention, no correction, no angst and no conflict; just a glimpse of the way it is supposed to be.

I was reminded of how God must regard us as his own children, delighting in our willing participation in his projects and his plan. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to join in anything that God, the Father, had asked us to do with him? He beams when we use our gifts and talents in a way that brings creative process and beauty to his end result.

And what of us? As children ourselves, we long for the kind of unity that only a father can provide; more especially our Heavenly Father. And, even now, as I watch him mind the dinner I was cooking so that I could write this, I realize that he actually felt that unity, for a change. So much so, that he was willing to jump in and join the effort. And all because, in my own way, I let him know that I believed he was capable; that his thoughts mattered. And they do.

So, some may wonder how the scriptural reference applies to this post. Well, I say it is just the right one, because it was my son who chose it.

Moving forward, we will likely still battle over uneaten peas, unfinished chores, too few showers that last way too long and all the rest. But for now, the seas are calm and the task has been carried out...in unity.

Man, I have such a long way to go and a lot to learn.