My Mom told me the rules.
She warned me.
She told me the consequences.
She tried to train me to remember.
And yet, when I was 8-years-old, I still forgot my snow boots at school on the last day before Christmas break.
The consequence? Without the boots, I wasn’t going to be allowed to play in the snow for the whole duration of the school break.
God does that with us too. He tells us the rules, then gives a warning complete with consequences in an effort to train us.
It started as early as the Garden of Eden with the forbidden fruit and continues today. The standards and discipline come from a place of complete and total love. Those rules and consequences are spelled out in His Holy Word, the Bible.
Like our loving Father’s action to assist in the teaching of His children, my Mom used the forgotten snow boots as a lesson.
She could have made me endure two weeks of snow-related exile. Instead, as the sky darkened and snow continued to fall, she walked back to the elementary school with me. As we walked, she explained that there was a strong likelihood that the school would be dark and locked up. She told me that rules were in place to help me grow into a responsible adult. She didn’t yell or scold, rather she explained and rationalized. It seemed like the longest walk ever.
There was one bank of lights on in the elementary school. After pounding on the door repeatedly, a janitor came and let us in so that I could retrieve my boots. I don’t remember a single snowman, snow angel or snowball fight from that Christmas vacation. But I remember my mom’s lesson to keep track of your things.
I love my mom dearly. And I love the lessons she taught me as a young child and even now as an adult. As we get closer to Mother’s Day 2019, come to the porch and tell us your favorite life lesson from a maternal figure in your life.
~Emily
“The whole training and education of children.” ~ Ephesians 6:4 (KJV)
Iron Porch 