Tim ‘The Tool Man’ Taylor is in the garden at night, changing the lightbulbs on the lanterns attached to his house.
His attention is caught by a sloshing sound over the fence.
“Happy hour, Wilson?”
The man, his neighbour is throwing some liquid onto a painting., of which he chuckles at the question being asked
“No, no, no, no, no Tim. I find that two coats of bourbon give my paintings a nice gloss.”
Continuing his duties of changing the bulbs, Tim impulsively responds the way only Tim would.
“Two coats of bourbon would give anyone a nice gloss.”
It’s a brief exchange between neighbours over something unusual and the man responsible for it is Wilson.
A man whose face is never seen, but always offers wisdom and sagely advice to those on the other side of his fence.
While Tim, his wife Jill or others who enter the backyard to speak what’s on their mind to him, very often with worry and haste, Wilson doesn’t rush, nor does he interrupt.
His calmness, his willingness to listen is a source of comfort.
His presence alone is enough to put people at ease, no matter the situation.
When You Feel Behind Without Knowing Why
One thing about Wilson is that he never seeks anyone out to actively give them advice. They always go to him.
For Tim, this is true, whether he is experiencing:
- A general life challenge
- A problem he can’t work out.
- Or even an incident he was at fault for. In all honesty, problems involving him are very often caused by him.
Wilson is the man who seemingly always has the answers, even if it requires reading between the lines at times.
Part of the reason we seek people out is because we don’t have the answers. Sometimes we feel like we do, but when people don’t quite get it, or we get frustrated at them, our first port of call is to go to another person.
Sometimes going to another person is a way of saying others are ahead of us in the answers we seek, even if we don’t openly say or think it. That feeling may be subtle and unnoticeable at the time, but it is there.
Sometimes, we can even feel shame about going to another person for answers, because it makes us feel less than, but what that actually is, is humility. You don’t need to lower yourself to be lower than someone, you are simply desiring to learn.
Learning something new, being taught in a different way and Wilson’s way, despite the quirkiness is a very insightful, enlightening and even humorous way of seeing the answer to that which others seek.
Perspective Over Answers
Although Wilson is quirky and unusual most of the time, when he gives advice, you might be expecting something that feels the opposite of him.
- A more serious persona
- A more grounded approach
- Even words that match the language of the person he is interacting with
Instead, his words match his personality and boy, does he not disappoint?
But sometimes the most unusual things to hear are actually the very things that we need to hear.
In Wilson’s case, he will usually provide a wise saying, proverb or story which becomes the focal point for the message he is trying to get across.
He listens to everything said, but responds with something offbeat, that they weren’t expecting.
So, in a strange way, he is bouncing off what someone says, not to relate to them directly, but to bring them to the point he wants them to see, in their own way.
For example:
Wilson is making yoghurt in his backyard, until Tim arrives with his problem about holding an anniversary show for his audience and give them something special, but he is denied funds to make it happen.
Wilson then explains a tale about an Emperor in Ancient China who received gifts each year which got more elaborate, as each one passed.
But one year a boy turned up, told him he had no riches to give, but the only gift he had was a song.
The Emperor was so moved by it that he declared it the greatest gift in all the land, because it was a gift from the heart.
Notice how Wilson is guiding Tim through his dilemma, not spoon-feeding him the answers. Even when Tim makes a couple of wisecracks along the way.
To top it all off on live national TV, Tim explaining how he wanted the anniversary show to go, spoke about how he wanted to do something from the heart. Eventually misinterpreting Wilson’s advice: “Like the young Chinese boy that smelled his own yoghurt!”
Even Wilson, the man who had just told a story about yoghurt and ancient emperors shook his head in disbelief.
Though Tim completely messed up the message, his intentions were pure and he grasped Wilson’s lesson in his own way.
After all, wisdom doesn’t need to be perfectly understood to change us.
God as Patient Teacher
Just as Wilson was patient with Tim and others, but mostly Tim, Jesus is patient with us.
The patience we see in him echoes something even deeper, a pattern woven throughout Scripture.
His method of teaching was through sermons and parables. Even when people did not understand them at first, or sometimes at all, he never chastised them.
He was, after all a teacher, not a taskmaster.
He never turned anyone away. Not when there were too many people. Not where they were located, he allowed himself to be an open door for others and still does today.
As he taught, he didn’t single out people for their lack of faith, or their lack of understanding of his words, he guided them. He understood that people needed time and he allowed them to go at their own pace.
In fact, Jesus actually guided people by asking more questions than providing answers. In Luke 10, an expert in law who asked him: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus’ next response was two questions: “What is written in the law?” and “How do you read it?”
He answered honestly and there was a brief exchange before the man asked:
“And who is my neighbour?”
Jesus then told the Parable about the Good Samaritan before asking another question to the man:
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
Notice how Jesus guided the man through teaching, he told a Parable which was storytelling with a moral lesson, alongside asking questions. This helped the man get to the answer he needed to hear.
The actual final lesson was going out and putting into action the answer.
If you look at both Wilson’s and Jesus’ teaching methods as a whole:
- They weren’t impatient for being asked loads of questions
- They didn’t get frustrated to the point where they just blurted out the answer
- Nor did they even correct the people they were guiding, even when they may have given the wrong response
They listened and responded wisely, they took their time and made their words count.
This is something that we can all learn from and see the value of not just listening, but also thinking before speaking, whether the matter is delicate or not, because even we learn when we take the role of the teacher.
Growth is not measured by speed, but by transformation.
Learning Is Not Falling Behind
Particularly today, if change isn’t physically visible, we assume nothing has changed.
After giving advice, Wilson never followed up to see what changed.
Having experienced and lived many things in life, he understood that the lessons he gave, required time to sink in.
If you watch Home Improvement, anytime Tim is with Wilson, there is confusion. Tim understands something isn’t right, but can’t understand how he is not in the right, especially when it is something he is responsible for.
This is actually how learning is in the beginning. Confusing. That is because learning is simply experiencing something new and new things are often perplexing.
And confusion is not failure, it is the beginning of understanding.
- You’ve moved to a new job, but reading the job description is different from actually experiencing it.
- You’re beginning a new subject in education that you have no prior experience with.
- You prepared for relationship, marriage, or parenthood — but once it begins, it feels like everything you learned disappears.
The beginning often feels slow and frustration can grow when we compare to other people who have already been there and have years of experience over us.
Learning is not a race, it is personal development, done in the quiet. Just because you’re still learning doesn’t mean you’ve stalled and it definitely doesn’t mean you’re falling behind.
Neither Wilson nor Jesus checked up on the progress of the people they helped, nor making sure what they passed onto them was being implemented. They trusted the process of understanding and the individuals themselves.
The best way to make progress with anything, no matter what stage you are at, is wisdom many have passed down: One step at a time and often, that step is smaller than we think.
One Small, Low-Pressure Step
Most tasks are made up of many smaller steps working quietly alongside each other.
Wilson offered a simple story or saying accompanied by his own wisdom. Jesus offered a single parable or sermon to push people in the right direction.
You are going to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Part of the reason for this is because the focus here is to help you notice, not fix.
Here are some suggestions for taking that one small step at a time:
- Look back on your day and find one thing that helped you learn something good
- Find one Bible verse that speaks to you and reflect on what it means for you
- Message a friend or family member and pass on some encouraging wisdom that you feel they need.
If you feel in your heart something else that requires one simple step, then treat that as your action step.
This isn’t just about taking small steps. It’s about seeing how much difference something small can make and what happens when you slow down, rather than trying to rush ahead.
Because when something finally makes sense, the smile comes naturally.
A Smile Before the Close
“Tim, it is not easy to change one’s perception of things, but it can be healthy. Some people might even say it’s a growth experience.”
Instead of Tim’s name, place your own name there. Don’t just hear Wilson’s words, let them sink in. Because his wisdom is as much for us as it is for the ‘Tool Man’ himself, Tim Taylor.
Words from a man who spends his life behind a fence, but never keeps his wisdom or his friendship behind it. A man who measures caterpillars’ backs to predict how cold winter will be, and even uses steel-tipped aerator sandals to tend his lawn.
But wisdom also came more than two thousand years ago wearing sandals, spending early adulthood crafting and shaping wood with His hands.
What we can learn from this is that the words and guidance we need to hear very often come from the most unusual places and as we can see, the most unlikely people.
Sometimes we need to stay open to them, because their answers may be what help you keep walking, especially when you don’t yet know the direction.
You’re Still on the Path
Every one of us is on a path and every one of us, whether we admit it or not, needs guidance.
You’re not out to prove yourself to anyone, not even yourself.
The path you walk isn’t for anyone other than you, others will walk alongside you, and some will even be Wilsons.
If you feel like you are wandering from it, God will be there to make sure you stay on it and to give you what you need to keep going. After all, he is the Great Provider, the only one who can give the supernatural blessings you need to live faithfully in this natural world.
Just remember, like Wilson’s advice to Tim, it may be unusual, out of the ordinary, even something you never expected, but always remember, it will be valuable and will be exactly what you need.
Wilson spent the entire show behind a fence, but never remained behind it. It was a way to connect, not shut out. Blessing and wisdom may come from behind things, but when we show ourselves at it and share what we have that the fruit blossoming in the garden can pour to others.
- You matter, even when unseen.
- You are not alone, even when silent.
- You’re not behind just because you’re still learning.
The blessings of the fence and the person behind them may be just what you need, not only to move forward, but to a source of wisdom to another neighbour.