For the past two years, my daughters and I have been at war with a wobbly fence post. Made from the lowest quality pine the home-builder could find, this fence post has been tasked with a most important job: to provide security to my children and keep the neighborhood from enduring the antics of Labradors on the loose. But alas, it has failed miserably. Come wind, come snow, come rain, you can be assured that this God-forsaken, piece of junk of a fence post will continue to wobble and in the process drive me crazy.
When toddlers call you “Dad,” you’re supposed to be able to fix these sort of problems. So, I began seeking solutions. My first thought was that drought was the culprit, so I watered the ground around the post hoping the well-watered ground would huddle around the post; nope. For my next solution, my girls and I ventured to Home Depot and bought 60 pounds of concrete. The collective intelligence of my girls and my vast construction experience was certain that we had solved the issue; nope. Finally, I summoned my inner Si Robertson and decided to solve the problem “redneck style.” I wrapped bungee cords around the post and anchored it to my wheel barrow. To my delight the post no longer wobbled; we were happy, happy, happy. But the HOA of “yuppie-vile” for some reason did not share in our glee.
Finally, it was time to solve this once and for all. After watching all five Rocky movies for inspiration, we put some “Eye of the Tiger” in the ear buds and William Wallace eye-black beneath our eyes determined to end this fence post’s tyranny of wobble. The scene was truly inspirational to my adoring wife. As she watched my suburban physique attack this fence post’s fortress of concrete and dirt, her head nodding in disbelief, I knew she was thinking, “I am one lucky girl.”
After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we reached the source of our trials: deep beneath the ground, the post was rotted and fractured. My only solution was to remove the decay, put a new post in the ground, and then seal it with a 100 pounds of concrete (yes, I realize I went overboard on the concrete). I am pleased to report that through the valiant efforts of my girls and me the threat has been once and for all removed. Today, a six-foot post of cedar stands boldly in its place; a testimony of American ingenuity signifying to all who pass by just what fathers and daughters can accomplish together when we put down our remote controls and chicken nuggets and come together in hope and change.
The experience reminded me of something that deep down we all sense: something is broken. “Girls the world we live in is full of injustice, suffering, evil-acts, and selfish hearts. Sometimes it feels like we are trying to hold life together with bungee cords and a wheelbarrow. But God intervened into our scene so that we may be redeemed. God dug deep—He put a post in the ground, removed the decay of sin, and sealed the redemption of all who believe, through the blood of His son.”
Looking down I caught a glimpse of my six year old’s emerald eyes gazing at me. “Do you understand sweetheart?” I said. To which she replied, “huh?!” “Exactly, none of us understand it all completely, but God doesn’t call us to understand it all; God calls us to believe.”
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