Prayyior's God Talk

Mom’s are wonderful…It is Mother’s Day soon. Everyone who has a Mother should honor her. Not just on Mother’s Day but every day.

How do Mother’s teach you things? What did I teach my own kids? Where did I do good, and where did I do wrong? What else should I have taught them? Have I now gotten so old that I no longer teach them anything? Or are the tables now turned and they are teaching me? Do I teach them by example or do I just say it and expect them to do it the way I say, even if it is not how I am?

I taught my children not to “puke” anywhere near me! If they were sick, they were on their own. If they puked on the floor…so did I! The very “sound” of puking causes me to “engage” in the same activity! As a Mother it was my responsibility to clean it up. I taught them, when cleaning puke off the floor, to start out with 2 buckets. One with the cleaning solution and the other to puke in as you completed the task.

I taught my kids to be kind to animals. Unfortunately my actions may have been “undone” when we raised chickens to eat. In order to eat them you have to “kill” them first! My Daughter had her pet chicken named “Speck”. He was a great chicken. He died too in converting him to food. It was a sad day! Our first meal of chicken, was a disaster! When you have an older brother who is mean you hear things like….”Are you going to eat Speck?” “This is Speck!” Crying ensued and I was very thankful that Speck had now been eaten. Now we could just go on eating the chicken without the crying and hysteria from eating your favorite pet.

I soon learned that mean brothers have a way of changing the game. We never had a meal of Chicken that didn’t include the following remark…”Ya know Sis, I was just kidding….we didn’t eat Speck the last time we had chicken…THIS IS SPECK!”

My Mother taught me to share with my Sister. She also taught my Sister to “eat fast.” Almost every time we went to town, we would be allowed to get candy from the grocery store. I was an only child for 5 years before my Sister came along, so I didn’t learn the “eat fast” angle, and I must have been a slow learner. I always thought that if we each got one candy bar then each of us would eat one candy bar. That had been true until my sister got hers. She ate fast and then cried and whined for more. I ate slow so that I could save some of it…..That worked until Mother learned I always had some left, and made me give it to my sister. When my sis had eaten the rest of my candy bar she seemed to be satisfied until we each got another one. The lesson in all this is to be “willing” to give up everything you have so someone else is happy and to be happy about giving! I learned this lesson well, and to this day, I hide what I don’t want anyone else to get….but if they see it and want it…It is theirs just for asking! I am happy to say, that My Sis, is no longer taking my candy bars, and when I spent a couple of days with her this week, I realized she still eats fast….but she no longer wants my food or dessert! I like her much better now!

My Mother taught me not to sit idly by and let someone control me. Oh….Maybe that was my Dad…Mom never really wanted me to fight with anyone. She would just say…it’s ok…just get away from the bullys. Dad on the other hand taught me to put away my fear, and pretend I wasn’t afraid. That is how I learned to “not run away screaming” when someone threw a snake at me in the school playground. It is true. Once you decide you will not show fear, and face the bully head on, they don’t like the game anymore and leave you alone. I have never liked snakes, never will and will kill everyone that crosses my path, dangles from above my door or tries to bite me! Kindness to animals does not compute when it comes to snakes. I now am perfectly capable of grabbing them by the tail, swinging them around a few times and whacking their heads on the ground, a pole, a tree, or any other hard object. I have learned the blood spatter that gets on your clothes from this exercise can be removed with hydrogen peroxide!

I know this is about Mother’s Day…but I have to mention my Dad too, because he and my Mother seemed to not agree on a lot of things. Mom never wanted anyone to “rock the boat.” Dad was a Boat Rocker! He told me to stand up for myself, and not let people intimidate me. I am not sure if that really worked well, because sometimes I still feel intimidated by others, but not much! It mostly all changed in 3rd grade when one of my “mean” classmates put a plaster cast of a rattler ready to strike in my desk. It scared me to the point of screaming….there was one classmate who laughed! Wrong choice. When we were done, he was on the floor bruised and bleeding and I was in the principal’s office. Needless to say, nobody messed with me after that! Sometimes you just have to take care of the problem yourself. My Mother was not at all pleased by this…My Dad said “Good Job!” “You have to learn to take care of yourself!”

My Mother taught me to read by the time I was 4. I could only read the books she had read to me over and over again. Now it would be called memorizing…but I knew I could read! It created a sense of feeling really “dumb” in first grade. It took some time to be able to “See Spot Run!” Dick, Jane and Spot were the first characters in any book I had to decipher the words to.

My Mother taught me to be vigilant. When I was little we didn’t have a bathroom, or bathtub, and every Saturday afternoon was bath day. We would haul the tub into the kitchen, heat the water and pour it into the tub…. starting with the littlest, we would all have a bath. Once I was done, it was Mom’s turn. My job was to let her know if someone drove into the yard. Our door was always open to friends and when the neighbors stopped by, they would just open the door and come in. My Mother really didn’t want anyone walking in while she was in the tub. The only real memory I have of this is the one day I WASN’T vigilant. All of a sudden I heard my Mother Scream and there in the kitchen she sat in the tub, naked…with one of my Dad’s hunting buddies standing there….He left really fast, and never again entered without knocking first. My Mother explained to me how important it is to be vigilant! Even that day, I found it extremely hilarious…but I have to tell you that laughing when your Mother’s nakedness has been revealed to Dad’s hunting buddy, is not a good idea. I am thinking I lost out on a lot of Candy Bars for that one….too bad for my sister though!

I taught my kids that if they argued long enough, I would get tired and let them do what they wanted. It was the worst lesson they ever learned from me. It did not equip them for the real world.

I taught my Kids about Jesus. I taught them to pray. I taught them to call on God for help in times of trouble. I taught them that they needed to ask forgiveness for their sins, and ask Jesus to come into their hearts. I taught them that without God there is no meaning to life. This equipped them for the real world and is the best thing I ever taught them.

I taught them that no matter what, I would always love them. I may not like their actions, but nothing would separate them from my love. I have to admit there have been times I did not like them, and I hated their actions.

I taught my children to run from problems. It was not a good lesson. I taught them to change locations. It never worked and will never work. We have to deal with our problems, and work out the solutions, get the help we need, and deal with our issues here and now, instead of blaming and running away. I am sorry to say that I failed miserably when I taught them this. Somehow it seemed right at the time, but now I am much older and wiser and I know it was a terrible teaching. It is one of those things, I wish I could undo, but cannot. I now would say…stay where you are, deal with your issues, fix your problem, get the help you need, but never run away, because the problems will follow you wherever you go….until you fix them!

I taught them to be thankful for what they had. They didn’t have to have the best or the most, but for whatever they got they should be grateful.

I taught them to let things slide. Get away from someone who is angry or obnoxious. I taught them to forgive….but I think that it caused some serious issues with resentment. I should have been there to stand up for them, and to not allow them to feel “less than.” I deeply regret the times I have let my children down, and not stood and defended them. There are no excuses, but the reason seemed to be the only way to take care of them.

I taught them of the beauty of the world, the heavens, the opening of a flower, the sound of the creatures of the earth. I taught them to stop and smell the roses. Life can wait for you to enjoy your surroundings.

I taught them that laughter was good! That humor is one of the things God loves.

I taught them of the joy of having food to eat. The thankfulness of not being hungry.

I taught them that angels are around them and there to help and protect them. I think I forgot to tell them that those angels were writing down everything they did, both good and bad. Yep…Should have told them that!

I taught them about evil. I taught them the fighting words that God has given us. I taught them what I learned that would draw them closer to God, and give them the ability to live life to God’s Glory. I should have shared the hurts and the defeats in my own life more. I should not have appeared “perfect in my own mind.” They lived with me for many years, they already knew I was far from perfect.

I taught them to not steal…to not take anything that belonged to someone else.

I taught them to not borrow someone else’s stuff. If you break it, then you will have to go buy new for that person, and if you can’t afford to buy it now, for yourself, how are you going to feel when you have to buy it and give it away, because you broke theirs?

I taught them to keep on, keeping on. Don’t quit. Never give up! I even had a picture illustrating that. I needed that lesson as much as they did. Still do!

I taught them that Character is important. Be honest and give more than you take, and treat others with respect.

I taught them that selfishness is ugly. Others do not respect selfishness in anyone.

I have learned through the years that everything I have taught them eventually comes back through their lips to me. I am now having them tell me, what I once told them.

Boy do I wish I was perfect….there is just nothing that makes you appreciate Mother’s day, like hearing your own words come back to you! And hearing them passed on to the Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren.

So for Mother’s day….Hats off to the Mom’s of the world! They have a difficult job. Some of us are better than others and some of us are worse than others. No matter what we teach, there will always be unintended consequences to our actions and teaching and training. We will never think we did a perfect job, but what we must realize is that whoever we are as Mothers…we did the best we could with what we had, and what we knew. (My Daughter told me this just a few days ago)

With age comes wisdom. Do I wish I could do this all over again? Not a chance….I just wish I had been a little wiser when my kids were little!

Do your kids always listen and do what they know is right…nope! Free choice enters in. As Mother’s we put it out there, and trust God to care of our kids, to protect them from wrong choices, and to guide them, and that someday they will fall in love with Jesus and choose to follow HIM all the days of their lives.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it! The promises of God are the hope of the world. The only answer in life that lets you love and live in peace!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!…Whether you are a Mother or not. Someone, somewhere respects you and honors you as though you are their Mom…hold on to that thought. Do the best you can…Trust God for the results!

Blessings to you all,

Prayyior