Fighting Monsters

A son's insight

---

The Setting:

The sun was moving away, and the sky began to grey before the colors set in. I hadn’t left my desk for some time. My head was filled with marketing assets, business dreams, action steps, and planning—all to make money while making a difference, ideally.

Working on my businesses I know is good, but in too much surplus, even the good tasks of business rob my mind of coherence and my wife of her husband’s attention, and our life’s balance. I was overloaded after a long day’s work, so it was time for a walk—a brief walk.

When my son Ambrose, who is five years old, heard that I was about to head out and go on a walk, he really wanted to come too, which is a blessing.

As my kids get older, I want to bring them as much as I can; I’m losing time. My oldest is 10, and over these years I’ve learned that, no matter what is going on in my mind, no matter the struggles in my life, walking with them is the best use of my time.

I want to share a short story with you about something my boy said on our walk. I have not yet figured out all its implications, but I’m curious to see what you see in his answer to one of my questions:

“Buddy, if you were like Superman, what would you do?”.

---

The Walk:

We saw two white crosses and two white bicycles on the side of the street where we were going to cross, on the way home, near mile 2.

This memorial led us to talk about what those items mean, that a parent and child had died, and that some drivers are not safe, and that we need to look both ways before we cross the street. That is a normal fatherly segue.

Then, as is natural for a little boy when speaking of danger, my son also started talking about fighting bad guys. That is a normal 5-year-old segue.

After I talked a bit with him about being smart and not fighting when we’re little, but getting away and getting help, there came a point in the conversation where he looked up at me, with a fun smile and said, “What would you do, Dad?”

“Well, when you grow up, you’ll know that you have to be careful. Sometimes people have guns and weapons and are not very nice, so part of being a daddy is learning how to avoid those situations, and of course, if need be, daddies fight.”

He likes this answer. He wants to fight, and I didn’t realize exactly why until about 30 seconds later.

Dad: “Ok buddy, you get my lesson though, right? Don’t fight now, learn to get away and get help, right?”

Son: “Yes, I get it.”

Dad: “Oh great! Now, let’s have fun. What if you were like Superman and you had laser vision and you could just laser the bullets from a bad guy?”

Son: “Oh yeah! If I had laser vision, like laser eyes, I could even cut the gun in half.”

Dad: “Oh yeah, buddy! What if you were like Superman and you were so fast you could run up to the bad guy so fast and just take his gun?”

Son: “Yeah! And if YOU were like Superman, you could fight big giant aliens, like these big dragons and water dragons and fire dragons.”

Dad: “Oh yeah, that’d be fun, huh?! Where do you think those dragons are from, buddy? Are they from another planet?”

Son: “Hmmmm...I don’t know.”

Then I asked him, my little son, “Buddy, if you were like Superman, what would you do?”

With a shy, precious smile, holding my hand, he looked up at me and said,

“I would want to fight the monsters with you, Dad.”

He likes the idea of fighting, because it means fighting alongside his dad. He’s not overwhelmed. He’s not afraid.

This really made me think, for a couple days.

---

My Thoughts:

“I want to fight the monsters with you, Dad.”

Where have I lost the vision of fighting alongside my father? I am overwhelmed at times. Certainly while I look to pursue a good future, knowing that all my efforts could come to naught makes me afraid.

“I want to fight the monsters with you, Dad.”

I think that’s a gentle line, but has the potential, in a profound way, to re-order my heart towards the good fight, and rebalance my vision.

I can look at my business, and all my endeavors, as my fight. 
I can look at all the marketing assets, dreams, action steps, and planning 
as my way of pushing forward the light.

But I am not in myself the light.

All the warring is good, but too much in surplus, 
because I am a child, 
robs my mind of the rest and coherence 

that you, oh Father, want to provide.

What if I, patterned after the answer of my little boy, re-approach my Abba and say to him instead:

“This is your fight. I am your little boy. Help me grow. Over time, teach me to fight the monsters with you, Dad.”

If I lived with an awareness of presence, and of mission, and in the knowledge that He will see His victory won, what levels of freedom and joy could I experience, simply walking with my Father in His garden, in the cool of the day - and calling that living?

Could I learn to help the world live by living naturally with God? Could I learn to help it breathe, and with my Father, enjoy its beauty?

If anything in here helps you, praise God. 

I want the best life for you. 
The very best life in Christ.

As always,

This is my prayer, 
and these, 
these are my confessions.