He must become greater; I must become less.

He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:30, NIV)




This is the summer that Eliot has come into his own as a car mechanic. In past years, through my own grievous fault, he was not trusted to do much of the difficult mechanical work. Either I was afraid he'd get hurt, or I was impatient and knew I could perform a given task more quickly myself.

But this year has brought a quantum leap forward for our relationship as co-mechanics on his car ... no longer do I ignore any suggestion made by my son ... because I have realized that I do so at my peril. He has saved me from hurting myself a few times, and from damaging the car. He has saved me time, in the long run, by reminding me of things I'd forgotten to do. And in fact he has come up with with some great suggestions for better ways of performing certain tasks.

I am becoming more and more his partner, less and less his mentor. It feels great.