The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it.

Genesis 2:15

Every family has “classic” moments that become legend or lore, often accompanied by funny or pithy observations made by the children. Here at Maul-Hall there have been many, and some have made it into print (probably the best source is In My Heart I Carry A Star).

One of my favorites occurred during our master-bath remodel in Brandon. Rebekah had pried a tile loose, which led to another, and another, and soon – fast forward – to complete demolition. She eventually did everything from installing new cement board to cabinets to flooring to sinks to the entire tiled shower enclosure.

At one stage, in the early reconstruction of the shower portion, our son Andrew walked in to find his mother sitting cross-legged on the bathroom floor surrounded by pipe fittings. She had the phone in one hand (talking with her plumber brother) and a lit blowtorch in the other.

Andrew rushed out into the kitchen. “O.M.G. dad,” he exclaimed, “I can’t believe you let mama have a blowtorch!”

Which all serves as an introduction to today’s post.

The Chainsaw:

The current situation is, as one of the less well known Chinese proverbs puts it, “Man who buys wife chainsaw wise to park in neighbor’s driveway.” Roughly translated, “What did you think would happen?”

Or, as Andrew might say, “O.M.G. dad! I can’t believe you let mama have a chainsaw!”

The more balanced truth of course is that the chainsaw is making it possible for us to handle so much more. In particular the extensive clearing out we have been thinking about for years. The flip side is that the presence of the chainsaw opens up projects, that lead to other projects, and eventually way beyond what I had bargained for. Work does tend to expand to fit the scope and the potential of the tools at hand.

So it’s been a rainy weekend, and I love the look of the garden in the rain. It’s also just the beginning of what is probably going to happen now that Rebekah has access to a chainsaw!

Happy Sunday, y’all. I hope you set an hour or so aside to be in worship. There is exactly the same amount of time – hours and days – in every week, and we tend to do what we get used to doing… even if it’s not so important as being with the wider community of faith.

In love, and because of love – DEREK