Forbidden fruit tastes sweetest… everything we know we aren’t meant to do come so easy…one would say it’s like our 2^nd nature. Last Sunday in church my Passie was preaching about parents raising their children and especially dealt with the fathers…maybe because next Sunday is father’s day…but I digress. Anyway immediately he started preaching, my 1^st reaction was to switch off since am not yet a parent. In my head I figured, I will listen to this sermon in like three or four years. And it’s like he read my mind coz he said, “I know a majority of you may want to switch off since it’s the youth service, but I urge you to listen, you may not be a parent now, or are done with parenting, but somehow you’ll need this.” I therefore decided to listen and even take notes. They may come in handy in the not-so-distant future! So he went on with his preaching but what really struck me the most is one thing, as young people we may be more educated than our parents, even have better jobs than them but they have one thing that we don’t, and that is, EXPERIENCE! I know a majority of us have heard this word before and even heard that sermon of ‘experience’ but last Sunday it really did strike me. Our parents have the one thing no school can teach us. They have the one thing that God has blessed them with by giving them the many years they’ve lived. 

You know how they say God works in mysterious ways, well He came through that very Sunday in a very mysterious way. After having such a wonderful time in church, I went home. There is some house hold chore that I was meant to do and I hadn’t done. So immediately I get to the house, my mum starts quarreling me coz of not doing it. The whole time I nearly wanted to lash out at her. I mean, it wasn’t my fault plus, I was going to do them anyway! So she went on and on about how that was irresponsible and even gave me a lash out on behalf of my sister since she wasn’t physically there. I came so close to lashing out but thankfully God held my tongue. Then God reminded me of what I had learnt in church. As much as I would have wanted to say that my mum was wrong, I remembered that maybe she was just teaching me about the future, of how to take care of my own house in the future. And I remembered my Passie’s words, she’s got Experience! She’s been married for 25 years, chances are, she knows things here and there that no school on this planet will ever teach me. 

So I’ve decided that I will listen to my parents and heed their words. Even the Bible likes children who obey, Ephesians 6:1-3 says  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: ³ “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”   

Sometimes I may not agree with them but I will not disobey! I will heed the words of The Good Book and as I sign off, I’ll leave you with an interesting excerpt I once came across.

I was RAISED!! I didn’t just grow up.

 I was raised!! I didn’t just grow up. I was taught to speak when I enter a room, say please & thank you, to have respect for my elders, to get up off my lazy butt and let the elder in the room have my chair, lend a helping hand to those in need, hold the door for the person behind me, say excuse me when it’s needed, & to love people for who they are, not for what I can get from them! I was also taught to treat people the way I want to be treated