Ivan and Visiley ~ Sharpen Your Ax

 

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. ~ Proverbs 27:17 ESV

 

            For the last few nights, my Pooheads (Angus and Sophia) have asked me to tell them bedtime stories. Usually, I love telling them bedtime stories because every story has aspects of suspense, humor, chaos, and a moral. The stories are a bit odd, if you’re an outsider, because I use Beanie Boos and other stuffed animals as the characters. For those of you unfamiliar with Beanie Boos, they are one of the latest fads in cute, cuddly, small stuffies. Some are large and some, like the ones I used in last night’s story, are smaller than a closed fist. Last night’s story was part of an ongoing tale involving two main characters, Ivan, a Russian woodcutter, and his son, Visiley … also a Russian woodcutter.

            Ivan and Visiley live in a cabin in the frozen tundra of Siberia. As usual, their day consists of waking up, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, and then heading out into the Siberia Forest to cut wood. During last night’s iteration, Ivan painstaking counseled Visiley on the value of sharpening his ax throughout their day of harvesting wood. At some point in their morning, Ivan took a break and sharpened his ax. Visiley didn’t take the cue and continued to pound away. As one would expect, the longer he used his unsharpened ax and the harder he attempted to swing it, the effort just made him more frustrated and exhausted. All the while, Ivan has determined to remain at a distance and observe his son … allowing him to learn some valuable lessons along the way.

            Eventually, Visiley fell to his knees, crying in complete and utter exhaustion. Ivan is a wise Father and consoles his son to some degree. More importantly, he reaffirms the lessons generated from Visiley’s failure to regard instruction. What were those lessons?

 

1)    Sharpen your ax. Failure to sharpen your ax will exponentially increase your struggle to achieve maximized output.  It’s just like life. When was the last time you sharpened your ax? When was the last time you invested in the tools which make you the best version of yourself? If you’re just going and going and going without taking time to sharpen your ax, the light at the end of the tunnel is probably just a freight train coming your way. America just celebrated the Labor Day weekend. Did you take any time during that holiday to sharpen your ax? Take time for yourself? Spend quality time with your spouse? Your children? Your friends? Get off your phone? Stay off social media? Work out in a way that leaves you completely wiped out but completely energized? Maybe, you took some time to pray or meditate. Sharpen your ax. You should prioritize it and make it habit.

2)    Own it! The responsibility of sharpening your ax is yours and yours alone. Nobody else can sharpen your ax. Sure, others can tell you they believe you need to sharpen your ax but unless you’re at a place to receive the admonition, you’ll just keep on doing what you’ve been doing … and you’ll keep getting the same results or worse repeatedly. You may be thinking, “Well, I don’t know how to sharpen my ax.” That’s the beauty of others who have gone before you. The responsibility to sharpen is yours, no doubt, but asking for help is a great means by which you can learn techniques and lessons. Nobody else can sharpen your ax but they can certainly help you.

3)    Strength through the struggle. Sometimes the best lessons in life are learned when we (parents, leaders, friends) allow our children, our subordinates, or peers to suffer through the crucible in which they find themselves. Sure, you, as a leader or a parent or a friend, can step in and ease their struggle but herein is wisdom … there is strength in the struggle. Wisdom blossoms when we allow the caterpillar to break through the chrysalis and become an adult butterfly … all without interference. The caterpillar’s struggle to become a butterfly are the natural course of life. When we intercede, we strip that strength and natural growth. Strength comes through the struggle. In our cores, we don’t like seeing our child or people we love struggle. We don’t want to see them broken. Wisdom allows them to struggle, without coming to the point of brokenness, to build resilience, endurance, perseverance, and a never-say-quit attitude.

 

`     I love telling stories to my Pooheads because I’m provided an opportunity to sow good seed into their lives in a way they are prepared to receive. That’s a good lesson for me to remember as I write this. Knowing when, where, and how to sow seed is every bit as vital as the soil in which we sow seed. If the soil is bad, we can obligate ourselves to cultivate it for use. Sounds like an engaged parent or leader, right? But let’s not kid ourselves … some soil is bad. It’s been contaminated in some way or is too rocky. What then? We move on to the next patch of good soil and sow seed there. It’s our job as parents and leaders where, when, and how to sow the seed. What happens next is truly up to the person and the Lord.