July, 2020 | Life Lessons from the Heart

The Sixth Commandment

About the fourth year I taught school, the seniors decided to take a skip day. Only three of about thirty students came to school that day. Teenagers are sometimes unkind so I knew the class had not asked one of the two boys because he was not in their “group.” I decided to ask the other two why they had not gone.

One, a popular boy, said, “Awww, Mrs. Sims. I get in enough trouble on my own without inviting it.”

I have remembered the words of the young lady who was very much a part of the “group” and whose parents worked for the school. She simply said, “I would never embarrass my dad like that.”

I attempted to instill that in my own children, and for the most part, that was the standard they lived by. They are good words to live by. Honoring one’s father and mother is obviously so important to God that it is included in the ten commandments.

In this crazy COVID 19 world, that commandment may have more importance than ever before. Senior adults are closed off from the world they knew. Many do not leave their homes because the death rate for senior citizens has been so high. They are either wise or afraid. It’s not up to you to judge. Even if they leave their homes, they hunger for contact with their children or other caring young people.

Let me encourage you to honor your parents during this time. Visit if possible but use wise social distancing. Drop a card in the mail, but include a handwritten note. Pick up the phone and call because they long to hear your voice. Texting is the current means of communication, but nothing can replace the sound of a loved one’s voice. Invest in their lives as they invested in yours. And, if you know senior adults who have no family, even if no relation to you, practice kindness and reach out to them. Many of us were privileged to have these people as significant others in our lives.

As a side note, I have remained friends with the young woman mentioned above for a number of years. There is no greater example of how this commandment should be lived out. She still meets her parents’ needs and many of their wants forty years after that day in high school. She is one of my heroes.

“Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with promise. Ephesians 6:2 NIV

Finding Direction

One of the joys of my life is taking my grandchildren on a special trip each summer. We have taken most of our trips with three or more of the six boys, but we added our four year old granddaughter last year. In addition to Nana Camps, for their graduation. I took the two older boys on separate trips to Europe for a seven day cruise and a few days in Rome.

On the last day of my oldest grandson’s trip, we took a bus tour of Rome to see what we might have missed. It was a rushed day because they changed the itinerary at the last minute, but we were able to see most of the famous landmarks.

Our guide took the group to the square and gave us a specific time to be back. My grandson and I ran a few minutes late, and the group had disappeared. We were stranded in the center of a city where no one spoke our language, and all our belongings were on the bus which had left us.

To say it was stressful was an understatement. Two people who had not spoken a cross word to each other in ten days were suddenly at each other’s throats. We both had an opinion about where we were supposed to meet the group, and neither proved correct. My grandson ran back to where the bus let us off, but it was not there. Nor, was it where I thought it would be.

Tempers flared and in our frustration, some angry words were exchanged. Finally, I snapped, “You would never talk to your dad that way.”

I will remember his reply until the day I die. “My dad would not be lost!”

There was no arguing with that statement. His dad would have mapped out every step and would never have been lost. He would have even had an alternate plan or two in case of an emergency.

Our story had a happy ending. We found a bus driver who spoke enough English to connect us with our bus, and eventually,we had a great story to tell.

But, all good stories have a moral. It struck me if that is true of an earthly father, how much more true is it of our Heavenly Father. God knew us before we were born and has plotted our steps since before our first breath. If we seek His direction in our lives, we can be certain, “My Father is not lost.”

In our darkest moments, God provides a light for our steps. He is only a prayer away. While his answer is not always what we would choose, we are told over and over in His Word of His great love for us. He cares too much for His children to leave them lost and alone.

Not all of us have been blessed with an wonderful earthly father as my grandson has been. However, regardless of our circumstances, we can be assured our Heavenly Father will never fail to guide our way..

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NIV

Uncertain Times

When I began thinking about starting this blog, I had no idea what the world situation would hold. These are definitely uncertain times, and we have never needed encouragement more. An unseen enemy has attacked us, and there is racial and political unrest. In times of uncertainty, I have always found comfort in a poem by Theodore Tilton, in which, through good and bad, an ancient king declares that success and failure, good times and bad, life and death, all eventually pass away.

As I look back at life from my vantage point, I realize that in my twenties, every crisis seemed to be the end of my world. Now many years later, I realize that God brought me through each crisis, and I am certain he will not fail me now. We can depend on His faithfulness in whatever situation we encounter. My greatest encouragement comes from the book of John in the Bible.

I have told you these things that you might have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (NIV)

Even when we do not understand what is happening in our current situations, we can be assured that we can trust God’s promises and the love that He showed on the Cross of Calvary