'HABITS' OF 'SIN' ARE TO BE 'NIPPED IN THE BUD!' .. LEARNING - OBEDIENCE TO A PARENT, TEACHES ONE EARLY TO RESPECT 'AUTHORITY', AND ULTIMATELY - GOD...POST 4, March 11, 2018

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PROVERBS 31:28 'HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED.'
EPHESIANS 6:1-4{GENESIS 18:19; DEUTERONOMY 5:16; COLOSSIANS 3:20,21} 'CHILDREN, OBEY YOUR PARENTS IN THE LORD, FOR THIS IS RIGHT. "HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER," WHICH IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT WITH PROMISE: THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU AND YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH."  AND YOU, FATHERS, DO NOT PROVOKE YOUR CHILDREN TO WRATH, BUT BRING THEM UP IN THE TRAINING AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD."   ​

Wow.  'Li'l Miss Tidy' had shown 'evidence' of having a 'problem' with NOT 'obeying her mother'.  Hum-m.
But, Mother was a 'wise' woman.  She would 'bide her time'; get all the 'evidence'; 'watching', 'carefully observing the questionable situation; not 'jumping to any conclusions'; and, 'calmly holding her peace'.  But then....when you think you have 'gotten away with your crime', well, watch out for her 'day of reckoning'.  And at that time, well, you really could not 'squirm' out of 'facing the truth' and be busy 'praying to God to have Mother be merciful'.  I kid you not!!

In retrospect, I would learn that Mother did not have 'eyes in the back of her head'.  No, Mother 'knew' 'human nature' and was not 'beguiled' to believe that my brother was lying, but that someone was going into his room, 'messing with his things'.  And, since it was not her, it had to be the only other person in the home when he was at school.  And that person was - yours truly.  And, she knew that I was not going to 'admit my crime'.  Thus, in 'wisdom', the guilty party had to be - 'Li'l Miss Tidy'.  But, rather than hearsay, and yet, to give me the opportunity to 'come to my senses' and 'to tell the truth', it was like she was 'lying in wait', like 'a cat waiting to pounce on the rat coming for cheese'!!  [You see, when you are doing something you know you are not supposed to be doing, that is the way you think, justifying yourself, avoiding 'guilt', right?!?]

I 'laid low' for about two weeks.  But, then, 'temptation' got the best of me.  I had not had the chance to play with my brother and the train set for - 2 weeks!! [He would not allow me to play with him.]  This was murderous to me!!  I loved to play with that train set. I was 'hooked'!  So, one afternoon when Mother and my brother were out doing some yard work, I asked to stay in, out of the sun.  [Even that was lying.  I loved to go out and braid the weeds, before they were mowed down.]  But, Mother agreed.  She left me sitting with my dolls and dollhouse, together with my tea-set on my 'play quilt' in the front room.  I could 'watch' them through the front window.  When I saw they were busy, digging and hoeing and that stuff, I crawled out of the room, down to my brother's room. 

I should have known that something was amiss. But, I was only 4 or 5 years of age.  Restraint was not one of my 'developed characteristics', yet. But, this was a 'trap'! 

There in the middle of his play table was - [I can't believe how easy this is going to be, I impishly thought] - THE LIONEL SET, ALL SET-UP - READY FOR ME - [YOUR'S TRULY - 'LI'L MISS TIDY] - TO THROW THE SWITCH!!  He should have left it hidden or up high!! [This was his fault! Genesis 3]  I was so excited!!  I had heard Mother talk about 'heaven' and how happy we would be.  Could this be like what 'heaven' would be??  Oh, the feelings of 'rapture'!!  And, they were outside, and would not hear the 'chugging' of the 'train'.  I could not wait!!  I got up from my crawl position, and my little self crawled up on the chair and - yes, I hit that switch and was relishing the engine and then the cars moving, going through the tunnel, around the mountain, up the hill, down!!!! and and and and. [The heart is desperately wicked! Jeremiah 17:9]  What!!!  No.  Is that?  Yes.

There standing in the room door - my Mother and, if that was not bad enough, my brother with that 'smirk' on his face - like he had just caught a 'rat' to kill!!

Me?  Well, first thing I thought was - this is NOT HEAVEN.  Then, I began to think in my mind about - consequences - the 'spanking' that I was about to get.  Mother had said that if I touched his 'stuff' again, she was going to spank me.  Then, like in rapid succession, I quickly started to go through those steps of putting my finger in my mouth, look innocent.  Oh, I wanted my older brother to be home and come to my rescue.  I started to cry....  

The worse of all - Mother remained - 'quiet'.  I was squirming, feeling fear, getting down from the chair, almost falling, standing still, and she said - NOTHING.  Then, she turned and walked away, telling my brother to let's go back out and finish the yard.

Me??  I had to remain in the house 'out of the sun', she said as she and my brother left.  Oh, how she wanted to be sure, I had learned a lesson.  Do not even think that she did not know what she was doing.  Would I think I had gotten away with this disobedience?  Would I continue and touch that train, again??  Or, had I really, repented??

It took them some time to finish the yard.  But, during this time, all I could think about was - 'what is going to happen to me?'  And, the worse was yet to come.  My mother just pretended that nothing had happened, the rest of that day and even put me to bed, with a story, prayer, and lights out.  NOTHING. 

As a matter of fact, Mother did not mention the matter until that Sunday, when all the family was present after Church Service in our home, at dinner. And she let me 'tell the story'.  I had to 'confess'. [Mother did not want any further deception on my part, nor confusion on my big brother's part coming to my 'rescue'.]  Then, she 'stooped down' and showed me - 'unmerited favor' - GRACE.  She believed that with all the 'delay' I should have learned my lesson - to obey what she has told me to do or not to do.  Therefore, this last time, she would not administer - 'the spanking', BUT, should I violate any rules again, she would immediately spank me.  Did I understand?, She asked in a voice I did not recall having heard before, come from her mouth,  I told her that I did, and, I asked my brother two years older than me, if he would forgive me and let me play with him with the train in the future. He said he forgave me, but, no, he was not ready to let me play with the train again.  I did not get angry, because I was not going to get spanked.  And, I sort of lost my appetite for the train, anyway.  I never touched the train again, in disobedience.  And, when my brother offered to play with me with the train, I would usually ask him to play other games with me.  I just did not want to go near that train set!!  [True repentance.  I did not want to get hooked with that desire, again!!] 

My mother molded the punishment for the child.  She knew that I was terrified of the pain of a spanking, and given time, I would think about the punishment, and that would deter me, and cause me to 'repent'. Wisdom.  This is how the Good Lord deals with each of his Children, giving them time to 'repent', or 'turn from the wrong way'. Do you feel 'any nudging' from the LORD? 

On the next post in a few days, more from my childhood, from around the age of 5 years, as I am learning with my brother, his studies, sitting under the table.  Be blessed by God's grace over the next few days.  Amen. Amen.    

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