The Journey: June 2018

June 24, 2018

LIKE PULLING TEETH

Have you ever had a loose tooth? I think it’s safe to say that everybody has. It’s usually not long until they come out all by themselves. I lost several teeth this way when I was young. I remember being told that if I put them under my pillow the tooth fairy would take them and leave me some money. I did that several times until I finally realized the adults in my family were the tooth fairies.

One day I was at my mom and dad’s and I had a loose tooth. Well, my dad told me I didn’t need to wait for it to come out by itself because I might swallow it. Then I wouldn’t get any money from the tooth fairy. He suggested we tie one end of a string around my tooth and the other end around a doorknob. I was reluctant because I was afraid it would hurt, but I went along with his plan. When we got everything set up and I was just the right distance from the open door, my dad quickly slammed it. As it closed with a thud, my head jerked forward and the string fell to the floor. It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it was going to. Maybe it didn’t work. Well, that’s what I thought. My dad pulled the string up from the floor and hanging there on the end was my bloody tooth. It did work.

That one was easy, but when I grew up, I had to have a tooth pulled because it was causing me pain. It wasn’t loose, so the dentist had to cut it out. One of my wisdom teeth had grown in wrong and caused the tooth in front of it to develop a cavity, so he had to remove two teeth to get the bad one out. It took him two hours to remove those two teeth. Now, I truly understand the expression, “Like Pulling Teeth.”

Just like my loose tooth that needed to come out, we sometimes have things in our lives that we need to do, but we put them off because we are afraid. We make things hard, “Like Pulling Teeth” that aren’t loose. Many times, we need to just do it and get it over with. Here’s where we fail, and this is what leads to fear. We should always ask God what we need to do first. He needs to be a part of every decision we make, and he will be if we always put him first and always seek to please him.

Too many of us want to be in control of our own lives and do what we want, but then we run to God to fix whatever mess we get into by doing what we want. We make things “like pulling teeth.” Stop, Look, and Listen! God is all-knowing. He has wisdom that we could never have and he does know what’s best for each of us in any given situation. We need to realize that and accept it.

God doesn’t want to be our boss. He wants to be our guide. He wants us to be happy, healthy, and wise. He wants us to prosper. He has plans for each of us. If we follow him, we will not go wrong. Following God is more than just walking the same path behind him, though. The Greek word for FOLLOW means “to be in the same way with,” or “to accompany.” He is right there WITH us on our journey to protect us and guide us.

Talk to God. Communicate with him at all times, not just when you need something. Build your life around him and his word, The Bible. Ask him what you should do, daily, and do what he says and you’ll soon find yourself happy. No, everything won’t be perfect but you’ll make fewer mistakes and bad decisions. Don’t make life hard “like pulling teeth.” Give it all to God and follow him. Life will be better here, and you’ll be able to live with God forever when this life is over. Give it a try. I dare you.

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June 02, 2018

MY OTHER LITTLE SISTER

I was about six years old and my sister was sixteen months younger than me. One day we went to the little country store that had recently opened up in front of our house. The owner’s name was Amos. My grandmother had known him since he was a little boy. Around mid-day, there were always several men sitting around inside eating lunch.

I don’t remember exactly what it was, but my sister, Loretta, wanted to get something and my grandmother told her no. So she fell down on the floor and threw a tantrum. She was crying, and kicking, and screaming. All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, our grandmother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, and gave her a good spanking right there in front of the store owner and all those men. Let me tell you, she never ever acted like that again.

Another time, though, we had gone to that same store and returned home. That’s when our grandmother noticed that Loretta had a candy bar. She asked her, “Where did you get that candy bar?” She said, “From the store.” Our grandmother told her she had to take it back and tell Amos that she had stolen it. She didn’t want to do that so our grandmother went outside and got a small branch from a tree and stripped the leaves off. We called that a switch back then.

She gave her a switching and we all headed back to the store. We went inside and walked up to the counter. Loretta laid the candy bar on the counter and said, “I stole this.” Amos said, “Oh, it’s alright. You can have it.” My grandmother quickly spoke up and said, “No it’s not alright. I ain’t gonna have them stealing.” We left and went back home. I never knew of her ever stealing anything again.

I believe that one of the reasons there are so many disrespectful, lying, thieving people out there today is because they were not disciplined as children. There’s nothing wrong with disciplining your child in a loving manner. I don’t think you should ever discipline them while you’re angry, though. You should pray and ask for God’s help and guidance before doing anything. I wish I had done that when I was raising my three.

If we would get back to raising our children God’s way, our world would be a better place. We need to make God number one in our lives and follow his word. Here are a few versed from the Holy Bible about disciplining children.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 29:17 – Correct your son, and he will give you rest. Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

Proverbs 29:15 – The rod and correction give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame.

Proverbs 22:15 – Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13-14 – Do not withhold correction from the child because if you hit him with the rod, he will not die. You will hit him with the rod and will deliver his soul from hell.

Proverbs 13:24 – He that spares the rod hates his son, but he that loves him disciplines him early.

Hebrews 12:11 – No discipline seems to be delightful at the time, but sorrowful, but afterward it brings the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

God tells us to discipline our children and train them to do right. They need to understand there are consequences for all wrongdoing. That will help them learn to obey God and avoid the flames of hell fire which is the ultimate consequence of doing wrong. Consistent, loving, discipline works, and when they’re grown, your children will understand, and they'll be grateful that you cared enough to correct them, just like my sister is thankful for our grandmother’s discipline today.