“Hey, babe, I finally got an idea! I figure Pastor Bob’s kind of like John the Baptist, since he points people to Jesus. And I’m kind of like Simon the tanner because I make leather from deer I process. So, what if Simon the tanner actually tanned and designed the leather belt that John the Baptist wore? It’s possible, right?” said David.
Sarah stopped stirring the cake batter. “Huh, I never really thought about it. Sure, why not?” Sarah walked over, kissed David on the cheek, then said, “Good idea, honey. I’m sure Pastor Bob will love it.” She walked back, glanced at her recipe, then added vanilla.
David smiled. “Thanks, babe! I’ll be in my office working on a design.”
About twenty minutes later, David crumpled his drawing, then threw it into the waste basket. It bounced, landing on the floor. Several discarded drawings lay strewn across the room. He set pen to paper and sketched out another pattern. He leaned back, studying the sketch.
“Ugh.” He slumped forward and laid his head on his desk.
Toby peeked around the halfopen door. “What’s wrong, Daddy?” David, still slumped over his desk, turned his head toward Toby. “Hey, Sport, you need something?”
“Mommy said I could draw with you.”
David sat up in his chair, turned toward Toby, and opened his arms. “Hop on up, Buddy.” Toby climbed into his father’s lap. David leaned toward the door and raised his voice slightly. “Guess Mommy thought Daddy needed some help.”
Sarah giggled from the hallway, closed the door, then went back to the kitchen.
Toby pointed to his father’s sketch. “What’s that?”
“It’s a fish. I’m trying to make a decorative belt for Pastor Bob. It’s his birthday tomorrow.”
“Is he a fisherman?” David chuckled. “No, this fish means Pastor Bob loves Jesus.”
“Can’t you just write Pastor Bob loves Jesus?”
“That’s a good idea, Sport, but I wanna use pictures instead of words.”
“You could put a heart on it,” said Toby.
“I guess I could.” David pulled out a paper and a box of markers. “You wanna help me put some ideas together?”
Toby smiled as he opened the box of markers.
“You remember John the Baptist from Sunday School?” David asked.
Toby nodded. “Good. Pretend Pastor Bob is John the Baptist. What do you think his belt might look like?”
Toby began drawing John the Baptist. David watched as Toby drew several objects on John’s belt: a heart, a fish, a cross, a bee, and a locust. David smiled, lifted Toby from his lap, and stood up. He set Toby back on the chair, then placed his hand on Toby’s shoulder. “You keep drawing. I’ll be right back.”
David returned shortly with his leatherworking kit. He sat on the office sofa and motioned toward Toby. “Come on over. Bring your drawing.” Toby grabbed his paper and sat with his father.
David held up a leather belt. “We’re going to make this belt look like the one in your drawing.”
Toby giggled and wiggled with excitement.
David set the belt aside, then pulled out a scrap of leather and some tools from his kit. He showed Toby what each tool could do, then they practiced on the leather scrap.
After practicing, they worked on Pastor Bob’s belt. Together they shaved, chiseled, and punched the leather until the belt resembled Toby’s drawing. They repeated the pattern along the length of the belt. David set the rivets, then held the belt proudly before them.
Toby clapped. “We did it!” “We sure did, Buddy. Just one more thing before we’re done,” said David. “We need a way for Pastor Bob to know it’s for him.”
“Oh yeah,” said Toby, who scrambled back onto the chair. He laid his drawing on the desk and folded it in half. “Now it’s a card,” he said. On the outside of his newly made card, he wrote: To Paster Bob. He flipped it over and wrote: Frum Dady an Toby. He hopped down and held the card up for his father. “Look, Daddy, I signed it for us.”
David chuckled. “That’s great, Toby. Go show Mommy. Oh—and ask her to get the wrapping paper. I’ll finish up here, then I’ll be out and we can show Mommy.”
David studied the belt in his hands. He turned it over. On the underside of the belt, he carved the following message: To our very own John the Baptist. From a grateful tanner and his artistic son.