July 5, 2018

Hi Daniel,

Happy Birthday! I thought it best to include a separate letter of explanation to go with your gifts. (Grandpa and Grandma went in with me on them, but I picked out the items, so they have more meaning to me.) I provided an assortment of “sampler” drill bits, some of every type, to go with the drill, so that you might learn what they are and how  to use them. When you are ready, you can purchase your own full sets of all the sizes for each of the different types of bits.

“When you are ready.” By this I mean to indicate you will in years to come build out your own toolkit–drill bits and more–“If that is your destiny,” (spoken with a deep voice).  It’s like in the third Star Wars episode, Return of the Jedi, when Darth Vader says to Luke, “I see you have constructed a new light saber. Indeed you are powerful.” And this leads me to a few interrelated thoughts on the spiritual aspect of this moment in your life and these birthday gifts:

1). Creativity in our work / skilled labor is a key way by which men can imitate God in His own creativity. Let your imagination be guided by His as you begin to discover your role in the world.

2).  A man should not define himself according to his sentiments or according to what other human persons esteem, even if one is going about performing noble / noteworthy deeds. This is a matter of choosing between things that are GOOD, things that are BETTER, and things that are BEST.  It is good to engage work / a profession; God said so in the Garden (Genesis 2:15). It is better to do things that benefit the common good. But even greater than our own or our neighbors’ perception of benefit is to be engaged in doing what pleases God–this is what is “best.” Yes, love God and neighbor, but put God first.

3). Then also, the good/better/best lesson is valid even when merely comparing various sorts of things done strictly on the level of what is of benefit to one’s neighbors (that is, when two options are speculated to be of equal interest to God). For example, sometimes a listening ear,  kind words, or time spent with someone is more effective in loving them than the ability to complete projects with one’s hands or brain. Men typically “do” things well with hands and brain and prefer to interact through our work, but we must be aware this is not always what others truly need. It depends on the situation.

4). When one is skilled at something it is commonplace that  (a) others will ask you to do projects for them, and (b) your own interests  will suggest projects. Beware, projects–as useful and entertaining as they can be–might themselves become distractions from what we should be doing. It’s kind of a Martha / Mary thing (Luke 10:38-42) for guys. Basically, the material world will readily assume a greater proportion of your time, money,  and mental processes than it should, if you let it. So don’t let it.

5). As much as it is good to understand things and be able to fix them, with every strength there comes a weakness. Like ju-jitsu–a style of fighting where one uses the strength of an opponent against them–“the world, the flesh, and the devil” can try to use our metaphorical “strengths” against us,  to defeat us. Having greatly developed one aspect of the personality, the temptation is to keep going to an extreme, which might not be what God wants. According to the analogy, one might be thrown off balance, leading to a defeat. Part of our service to God relies on the effort we put into choosing among many possible things what we shall prioritize, attempt,  complete or abandon. Being thoughtful about it can keep our strengths under control and the mind balanced in approach to whatever challenges we face. My hope is that you will discern in prayer what you should be doing, not accepting projects simply because you are able to do them or because you would enjoy them or because they would further your skill with a tool.

6). Remember what I told you about praying before starting a project (we were doing the garbage disposal replacement), and try not follow my poor example in swearing when things go wrong since, as Christians, we believe that even what goes wrong can be used by God for his glory. It may be that we learn the most from our mistakes as the experience of failure keeps us humble as well as makes us better teachers to others.

7). Grandpa and I consider all our fix-up projects the equivalent of prototypes in a design lab. (Seldom do we do the same projects over and over again.) And prototyping is full of failure! Get used to it and it won’t bother you so much when what you are working on won’t cooperate. Lower your expectations and enjoy the discovery process. Success & quality work will eventually come with patience and experience.

God bless!
Love, Uncle Mark