Another Kind of Creation Story

A LEGO Mindstorm robot was all Spencer wanted for Christmas.  He was perfectly fine with it being his only gift.  Yet long after the wrapping paper had been thrown away, the robot (and all of its hundreds of pieces) remained in the box. 

Weeks passed.  Once or twice, I saw that the box had been opened and pieces taken out.  Then the pieces would disappear back into the box.  Spencer said nothing.

In February, I gently asked him about it.  He admitted that he did not know how to use the computer software to program the robot.  He needed help getting started.  Today, thanks to a friend, he got the help he needed.

One of the boys' friends is a thirteen year old budding engineer and LEGO maniac.  He agreed to come over after church and help get Spencer started.  It was a joy!  All the Degonia boys sat around their friend as he guided the construction and helped Spencer understand the programming.  They took the laptop upstairs, and used it to design and program the new robot, whom Spencer named Wack.

Two beautiful hours passed.  Eventually, the other boys moved on to other things-- Nerf gun wars and sword fights-- but Spencer remained devoted to Wack's development; and thanks to his friend, he could do much of it himself.  Late into the evening, Spencer continued to explore his new creation.  His eyes sparkled.  He wanted his picture taken with Wack.

Amazingly, Spencer's brothers seemed to understand what an important event this was for him.  Although they watched intently, and helped a bit in the construction and programming tests, they allowed the robot to be under Spencer's control and respected his needs.  I am grateful to them for their understanding.  I know it wasn't easy to show such restraint!

It isn't always easy to know when to help and when to wait and watch.  Today, I'm grateful to have found just the right person to assist Spencer in his learning; and I love that I could be there-- waiting and watching-- to see yet another of my boys' learning experiences.