"Mowing My Pathway to Maturity"

Matthew is 10 years old. He says he is a "tween." Apparently that is when you are not a kid, but not a teenager so you are considered a "tween." He thinks that a "tween" is more mature and should be given responsibilities that are mature. He has been begging his daddy to let him learn how to mow the yard. I personally think it is a great idea. Less work for Matt and if Matthew enjoys it our yard will always stay nice and trim. (The only thing around here that is nice and trim, but this was not suppose to get personal.)

Yesterday Matt gave Matthew a lesson on how the machine works and Matthew was ready to go. Not Yet! Matt asked Matthew to go stand on the top of the deck and watch carefully. Matt made about 3 laps around the yard and then called Matthew down from the deck and instructed him to stay on the path.

"Matthew, do you see the path that I have marked out for you." Matt asked.

"Yes sir, I see it."

"Keep your left tire to the edge of that path and stay focused on the path and move ahead slowly."

"I've got it Daddy."

Matthew began to mow and the more confident he became, the faster he drove that lawn mower. Matt noticed that as he would go fast he would get off of the path and miss some spots. So Matt went running behind him and grabbed the speed adjuster stick (sure laugh, but what do you call it.) and he would slow the mower down. I'm watching from the deck (laughing hysterically at Matt trying to chase down the lawn mower, all the while calling Matthew's name which he could not hear over the mower.) and I noticed that Matthew didn't see his daddy do this. He looked around shocked as to why his mower was slowing down on its own, so he cranked her up again. (Not literally, that's southern, redneck talk for "made the machine accelerate.") He was going along fast, happy and oblivious to the path he was now off of and the mess he was leaving behind. Matt stopped him and ask him to go and look from the deck again. When he got up there he said, "Wow, I can see the path from up here and I was way off. OK, now I know what to do." He returned to the job, kept the mower slow and mowed his way into a new responsibility.

As I watched this father - son lesson I began to realize that Our Father had an even greater lesson for Matthew and for me and maybe for you.

Psalms 25:4 "Show me your ways oh Lord, teach me your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your path straight."

Just as Matthew has a father that will lovingly teach him and mark out a path for him to follow, so we too have a Father who has marked out a path for us to follow. Matthew was instructed to stay on the path and go slow. We have been told to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. I find that when I am leaning on Him and listening to understand His ways, I walk by faith and I walk slow. When I am selfishly clinging to my understanding, I get cocky and go too fast and usually mess up and fall. I am so glad that like Matthew, I have a father that runs after me to say, "Wait, watch this again, here is the path, stay on it." God is so patient with us. I pray that as we are "mowing our pathway to maturity" we would stay on the path, welcome instruction and receive rebuke so that we would stay on the straight path.