Behind the Curtain

"Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.” John 5:19-20

Next month, it will be thirty-seven years since I met Bruce. I had decided to transfer from Duke Power Company in Lancaster to their offices in Charlotte. I received the transfer and began working in April around the corner from his office. Within 4 weeks we began to date and I have never looked back. It didn’t take long to understand how much he loved his parents. He has the physical traits and the hilarious humor of his mother, but the work ethic of his dad. For over 3 decades I have not only heard the stories of his childhood, but witnessed the shared respect between him and his dad. Many of the stories for which he has painted precious pictures were of him as a pre-teen. He would follow his dad down the stairs into their basement and disappear behind a curtain where all the projects were born and built. I can just see that little green-eyed, wide-smiled boy intently watching each movement of his dad. I can close my eyes and hear his millions of questions trying to better understand and learn new things. Sometimes I’m sure his dad allowed him to place his little hands around a tool to welcome him into sharing in the project. No doubt his father taught him the purposes of each tool and the importance of adhering to safety and rules. What a precious relationship these two had that extended until 2011 at which time he passed on to Heaven to be reunited with Bruce’s mother.

This is what I want for you and for me when choosing our activities with the time we’ve been allotted on earth. We won’t see the movement of God unless we quiet the noise around us. We won’t understand the purpose of anything in our lives without spending time ‘behind the curtain’ where secret things are shared and created. When we allot most of our time to the things of man, we build relationships with things that won’t fulfill us, sustain us or grow us. We must be child-like in our pursuit of our Father and follow behind Him wherever He leads us. The yield is nothing short of remarkable and the love carries us beyond anything we could experience on earth.