“Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.”-Proverbs 22:6
photo by dazzied
As a teenager, my room was upstairs in the little white brick house on the corner. The entire upstairs was mine, well, all but a really small room to the back which was used for moms sewing stuff and its also where we kept the exercise equipment. We kept it there cause, well, I don’t know. Excuse to not use it was to have to go upstairs? I dunno. I loved my room. It was like a little apartment. One of the most horrific things used to happen in this room. Horrific….then.
Sunday Morning. Sometime between 7:30 and 8AM. A teenager fast asleep in his bed. Not internal plans of getting up before Monday, if then. Then, out of the blue, IT happened.
“What Scott?! What Happened?!”
Hang on I’ll tell ya.
The lights came on suddenly. The door opened that lead to the stairs. Then the horrible noise started. It was a screeching that has been on my mind for years and years. I can’t shake it.
“What noise Scott!?”
“riiiISE and shiiiINE and GIVE God the GLORY GLORY! riiiISE and shiiiINE and GIVE God the GLORY GLORY!” I wish I could convey to you the sound.
Things not to do to a teenager, all wrapped up in about 15 seconds. It was “the mom” coming upstairs to wake me and make sure I got ready for church.
“UGH! WHY is she DOING this. I don’t WANT to go!”, I remember thinking to myself as I buried my head under my pillow, thinking, hoping, she would go away. She never did. I HAD to go to church.
“Scott, you poor, poor thing. Not getting to choose.”
I hear ya.
Up until recently, I always thought it was silly to MAKE me go to church. Maybe even a little bit of resentment built in. I should get to find my own faith, and in a sense, I agree, but I wouldn’t have looked I don’t think. I should have had the choice, my choice would have been unwise. Now though, I thank God that this scenario played out over and over again. Otherwise, where would I be today?
“What? Did I just hear you correctly, Scott?”
See, my mom and dad gave me my faith. They were the ones who introduced me to God, as unwilling as I was to accept him. If they hadn’t introduced me to him, I wouldn’t know him today. I shudder to think where I would be, today, without this faith.
Should a child have that choice? Well, does a child get the choice of going to school or not? I doubt it, in most cases. Why? (“Scott, there is a BIG difference”…hang on) Because schooling is needed to get them through their future. Give them the knowledge they need to get through life. Can the same not be said of faith?
I am so thankful my folks made me go to church even when I just about refused. There could have been no better gift, no better expression of love, than to show me the way.
“Well, I don’t agree, Scott”
“Why?”
SC
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8 Comments
I was also made to go to church each Sunday and as I got older (those horrible years where an alien inhabited my TEEN body) I despised going. I even cursed my mom under my breath for making me go. I didn’t get it and I didn’t even want to get it. My ears were deaf to the sermons. All I could think about was how happy I would be when I no longer had to go. I know now, like you, that this was the foundation for the faith I have now and I am so thankful for this.
Thank you Scott for sharing and for adding the hummingbird button to your blog. Thank you, Thank you! I owe you one!
Blessings,
Leslie
Leslie’s last blog post..Colours For Children Christmas Give-Away-I NEED YOUR HELP!
@Leslie – Thanks for sharing. It’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one.
Your welcome, Your welcome! And please don’t think you owe me anything. Just being around is enough.
~”rIsE & ShIne & GiVe God YoUr GloRy, GLory….”~
Yes, I wake my 4 children the same way~ plus I have a few other songs in my repertoire~
And, yes, they say “yes, mom, that’s good… o.k. you can stop singing now.”
But, do I stop? No way.~
~ I was raised with my dad singing & dancing in the living room~
~Watching my parents love their faith~
~They past this onto me & my sisters & brothers.~
~It is the most precious gift~ that and loving your husband or wife &
just being happy~
~Whenever I part with my children threw out the day, no matter how many times~
I say~ “God Bless you, may your Guardian Angels watch after you & I love you”……..be good….have a great day….be kind….& I love you!~
that last part is usually said as they are closing the door.
~But~ this is what they will remember.
~You are proof, Leslie is proof & many more are proof~
pass this gift of faith onto your children~ they will need it & will someday be thankful for their faith~
~Amy~
Amy’s last blog post..~Catch these Moments~
Scott i to have been awaken by that very same song and i absolutely despised every time she would sing it. I know our moms mean well by what they are doing but i also believe that they can over do it. Maybe one of these days i will see why. Keep up the good work
Scott,
I was not only made to go to church, I also went to catholic grade school and high school. I never heard that song until my daughter attended bible camp one summer with a friend. I love it!
I am grateful I attened Catholic schools…I am the wonderful, compassionate and giving person I am today because of it.
Tess Marshall’s last blog post..How To Put Joy & Simplicity Into The Holiday Season
@amy – I’ve caught myself singing it on several occasions, but that was in the past and I guess I stopped, because at the time I was, my heart was usually someplace else. I will have to start over, but it’s never too late I hope. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for stopping by!
@theunknown – not long ago, I would have been right there beside you, nodding my head in agreement. Yep, over done. I can’t feel that way any longer. Keep hanging around. Keep looking. Listen. He’s out there.
@tess – Wonder if she liked the song when she heard it screeching through her ears
It is a great song, with lots of meaning when one stops and thinks. All those “younger” years when we wondered why in the world are we doing this! Well, mom and dad are sitting where ever they are now saying “That’s why!” It is great.
I spent 25 years of my life as a youth minister, and often thought about the school analogy that you mentioned in your post when I would hear some parent use the reasoning, “Well, I don’t want to drive my kids away from church by making them go”. Those same parents don’t think twice about “making” their kids go to school when the kids don’t want to go, and don’t seem to have the same concern about driving their kids away from learning.
I grew up in a wonderfully happy Christian home, and it never even crossed my mind that I had an option to be anywhere else on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, or any time there was a special meeting or church gathering. I am so thankful that my sweet parents didn’t give me the choice.
As parents, we have one shot at instilling the right values and morals into our children’s hearts. My son Justin is 19 and a freshman in college. My wife Susan and I are still an influence in his life, but we will never have a second chance at the 18 years of opportunity we had while he was at home. I’m thankful that my parents showed me the importance of godly parenting while I was growing up in THEIR home.
Thanks, Scott, for sharing your thoughts on this important topic. God bless you and your readers!
Paul O’Rear’s last blog post..Moral Courage (Part 2)
@Paul – thanks for your input and sharing a bit about your past. I’ve yet to figure out why I was so…against it…when I was a child/teen. My parents loved God. I guess I thought I did, just didn’t have THE relationship. Thanks for the visit!