Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Of all the little projects I have done, I’ve never installed a new ceiling fan. The lovely old mid-century modern one I got at a thrift store for $35.00 had, I discovered, earned its price tag as it did not work. In addition, as much as I dislike overhead lighting, my spouse very much likes the house to be lit like a dentist’s office. (That’s my description of the lighting scheme not hers.)

Anyhow, between the lack of light and the lack of air movement given the shot motor, I had to install a new fan. I broke down and paid full price for one which was stress inducing in and of itself.

I had to figure out a rather complicated set of wires as the room has been wired and re-wired many times. I also had to figure out how to run the light on a separate switch while still making the remote control work. I had to sort through options for ensuring the ceiling could bear the weight of the new fan as the old one had been installed with a box that really wasn’t substantial enough.

But it is up—and it works! As simple as the job was it still gave me a sense of accomplishment and some small pride.

I was thinking that it reminds me of the way we grow in the church, too. We might need to learn some new prayer to find the spirit blowing again. We might need to re-wire some things in our spiritual life because what once worked is now jumbled and confusing. We might need to make a change because someone in our life needs some light in theirs. Something may just be broken and need our attention and our willingness to give it some focus.

It’s easy, I think, to avoid progress in our spiritual life. There aren’t many spheres outside of religion in which telling someone that what you learned as a twelve year old is all you need to know. As we grow we need to grow. We need the challenge and we need to always be willing to take on the projects and possibilities that will give us a chance to say yes.

Even more importantly, I got to show my son how to wire the fan. We got to look at the fuse box and talk about how to take on a job safely. We got to hunt for lost screws together and problem solve. And he learned not to be afraid of electricity but to give it the respect it deserves.

We don’t need to be afraid of the Spirit—but we do need to give it the respect it deserves. Challenging ourselves in new ways, spiritually, is our chance to hear the Spirit moving and speaking freshly. And it’s our chance to be able to show someone else how to create light and find that fresh possibility, too.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert