Last winter, my wife and I told our son Tyler that he needed to find a job for the summer. He’s 16 now, going on 17, and it seemed best that he develop a work ethic, demonstrate responsibility and earn money for his college education.

He tried to find a job, but with no apparent signs of success. His friends were having similar experiences.

Not wanting him to spend the summer idling time away in front of the computer, I prayed for a practical and doable solution.

My prayer included the truth that God keeps His children productively employed and provides ample opportunity for profitable engagement. We all prayed together for several months previous to summer break, but no job had yet opened up.

Finally, an idea came.

We all understood that Tyler was going to college. That was a given. Also, college is expensive, if you hadn’t noticed, and someone has to pay the bills. If Tyler didn’t have the money, well, who ends up paying the bills? Us! Right…

So, I reasoned that if Kathy and I were going to end up paying the tuition bill anyway, Tyler could be earning that money right now from us by working for us. And that would accomplish several goals. It would build savings for college, he would learn how to work, and he’d gain a better appreciation of what it takes to support oneself someday.

So, I asked Kathy if she had any big projects she wanted completed in the yard. She said YES!! She’s wanted a long retainer wall built in the back of the house.

There is a long steep bank that has been miserable and even a bit dangerous to mow for years, and a wall would eliminate it.

We’ve avoided hiring this project out because it would have been prohibitively expensive. But now, with an idle son on our hands, he could do it! And we’d pay him to do it.

Our prayers were answered. Tyler was commissioned to build the wall, and it would take all summer to do it.

So, we set a wage, outlined the hours he was expected to work, Kathy showed him how to do it, which was a constant hand-holding effort, but okay. Mother and son ended up bonding in many special ways because of closely working together on the project. And off to build the wall he went.

And it worked! He was a transformed son by the end of the summer. I was so proud of how he rose to the occasion. He truly did mature in so many ways that could never have been accomplished in any other way than getting out there and doing a significant job. Shoveling, digging and hauling bricks, was not his original idea of a summer vacation. But he got over that notion quickly, and buckled down to start earning his way.

And here’s the Great Wall of Tyler, a wall over 200 feet long…