A Conversation With the 17-Year-Old Boy About Service

After a very hectic evening, John being out of town, I noticed that the 17-year-old boy, of his own accord, having donned his black jacket and beanie, was taking the rolling wood carrier outside and bringing it back, filled with wood, to fill up all the fireplace wood holders. We heat our home with 4 wood-burning stoves..

....so this is no small task. The fact that he did this was remarkable, because every other night, I usually ask one teenager to each bring in a load of wood, and I bring in one myself. No matter how cold it is outside, no one EVER does it on their own, without my prompting. Sometimes I would just like to see how long they would go before they got cold enough to bring in wood without being asked. I don't perform this experiment, however, because of the 3 little ones who spend most of their time close to the floor, where it's colder.

And not only did the 17-year-old boy bring in four loads of wood, he made fires in each of the fireplaces, again, without being asked. I was so exceedingly grateful for these gestures, these acts of willing service, that I decided to do the two sink-fulls of dishes which were waiting for him, as is his chore every evening for the month of January. Lest you wonder what the other kids do to help in the kitchen, here is the breakdown...

The 14-year-old girl: counters and lower island
The 13-year-old boy: dinner helper and dishwasher unloader
The 9-year-old boy: pick up everything off the floor and straighten up the couch area we recently set up in the kitchen
The 7-year-old girl: wipe down the high chairs and clean the top part of the island
The 3-year-old boy: pick up ten things on the kitchen floor
The 39-year-old mom: sweep

As I was nearly finished with the dishes, I turned my head back towards him where he was stoking a fireplace and said...

Me: 17-year-old boy, because I am so very grateful for the fact that you got all this wood and made all these fires without me having to ask you, I have done your dishes for you.

17-year-old boy: Yeah, I so knew you would do that. I totally read you like a book.

Me: Oh, so you knew I would do your dishes and you figured that you would rather do the wood then the dishes, huh?

17-year-old boy: Yep, pretty much.

Me: Well, what if I hadn't decided to do your dishes? Then you would have just had to enjoy the blessings from above for your work of service.

17-year-old boy: Yeah, so I win either way.

Oh....My.....Gosh. Is one of my kids actually internalizing what it means to serve? This was honestly a momentous occasion, and that is why I am sharing it with you today. Thanks for listening. :)