Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/86

Contributor - Janet Koolhaas

Title - Fibre-Glass, Sawdust and Dad

Topic - Father's Day

One Saturday in March our family went to the shopping mall. We suspected something was going on when we had to park on the outer fringes of the full parking lot. When we got inside the mail we discovered the reason for the crowd. A display of beautiful motorboats lined the entire length of the mall. Hungry salesmen eyed the crowd for whom the fantasy world of warm sunshine, a lake, a boat and water-skis was a pleasant diversion from the reality of the freezing weather outside.

Like everyone else, we stopped to look at each boat We cautiously ran our fingers along their shiny surfaces and dreamed impossible dreams. The smell of new fibre-glass was still strong as I stood admiring one particular model. Suddenly I was swept into an odor-induced reverie that lasted only a few seconds, but took me back through a lifetime of memories.

I was a small girl again - about nine or ten years old. I was out in the garage with my dad, and the pungent smell of fresh fibre-glass resin filled my nostrils. There was a thick layer of sawdust covering the floor and its own sweet smell added to the potpourri of delicious aromas filling the workshop.

It was cold in the garage, but I never noticed, because I was warm inside. I felt good all over. I was with my dad, and I was helping him build a boat. It was the best boat ever! How could it have been otherwise - having been crafted by my dad? In my biased opinion, Dad never made mistakes. And the boat as it took shape, merely supported that opinion.

It was one of the best times in my life, working out there every evening with Dad- just the two of us. It was a privilege that I never took for granted. The memory of three jealous younger faces pressed against the front window is one that remains as vivid as the memory of the smells and sounds of boat-building.

Although I probably wasn't much real help to Dad, he never gave me reason to suspect it. Trying to anticipate what tool he would ask for before he asked for it, holding a piece of wood while he cut it or nailed it, just being together made me feel special. Words, gifts or money could never replace the simple joy of those times spent with Dad building our boat.

I wonder what memories my children will cherish when they are grown. Will it be the times when we really worked at providing a good time for them, or will it be the unplanned moments of togetherness pulling weeds in the garden or baking Christmas cookies or pounding nails in the shop with their father?

Will the good memories outweigh the bad ones? Will they see enough of Christ in our unplanned actions to want to follow Him as their Lord when they grow up?

Father's Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on our own memories about Dad. Perhaps this year Father's Day can also serve as a reminder that what we do today with our children will someday be either a good memory or a bad memory.

May God help us and bur children to remember the good things!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8, 9)

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