Remembering times when I was disciplined seems to stick in my mind better than day-to-day activities of when I was young. I don’t remember them as a bad thing but as a time when God was leading my parents to create good character and better decision making in me.
I can remember this one time as a picture in my mind of one of my earlier days. We lived down a long lane when I was 4 years old. On certain days I was allowed to walk down the lane and meet my father coming home from a day’s work at the fertilizer plant. I would crawl in next to him and stand up with my arm around his neck as we drove back down the lane to home. The lane ended at HWY 60, a busy two-way highway. Across the highway was one of those old-fashioned general stores. The stores that have that smell you never forget. The wooden plank floors that creak as you walk on them. The front screen door that had a metal coke bottle as a handle and a bell that dinged as the door slammed behind you. Inside was a cooler packed with iced sweet soda drinks, 7UP, Coke, Orange Crush, and many other delightful flavors. I don’t remember getting any of them, just wishing.
Now at the end of the lane if you turn left, not crossing the busy highway lived our good neighbors the Moss’s. I remembered the open invitation they gave each time you visited. They would say “now you come back and see us.” As a 4-year-old that was an intriguing invite. So, one day I took them up on it without my mother’s permission. Now, I don’t know how long it was before my mother noticed I was missing or if she received a phone call from Mrs. Moss. I remember getting to play with the older girls, Alice and Linda, basking in their attention. Well…. Mom arrived shortly with the butter paddle in her apron pocket. We said our thank you and goodbyes to the Moss’s and headed back down the lane toward home. With every step I got a well applied swat to my backside and a few more talking points on obedience. The lane was longer than usual on that day!
As we grow that conscience that God put within us is growing. Hopefully this is helping us weigh the consequences of our decisions. Joined in a miraculous way when we receive Jesus as our savior and learn to surrender our will to HIS. The thoughts we have, the words that come from our mouths, what our hands do, and where our feet go being guided by the Spirit within. Am I listening or am I choosing to do the very things I have a caution against, because I JUST WANT TO! The choice should be easy, remember the lane can be a long way back.
God Bless You,
Grandma Lynn
“Packer and Stacker”