Each Saturday when I was young, Mama and I went to the grocery store. Up and down each aisle we sought out the items needed on her list. I loved going to the store with her. There were was no begging for fruit snacks, candy, cookies, etc. She had her list, checked it off and she stuck to it. Occasionally, I would act up doing childish things and she would call me out on it. The first time Mama would say, “Sherian” (she usually called me ‘Baby’), “stop that”. A few minutes would pass and I would start again doing whatever it was that was disobedient. The second time Mama would say, “Sherian, I said stop that. Don’t make me tell you again.” We would be almost finished with our shopping and she would again have to call me down for something. The third time was always different.
The third time she would stop what she was doing, look me straight in the eye and very quietly and kindly say, “this is the third time I’ve told you to stop, when we get home you are going to get a spanking”.
Wow! Scary!
I didn’t like getting spankings. I straightened up immediately. Not another peep was heard from me. I was the big helper, being ever attentive to everything she needed and the model child helper for the rest of the trip. In fact, I was so good that even the checker or sack boy would comment on my wonderful behavior. I was safe. No spanking for me. I was being obedient.
Mama never said a word. She praised me for helping and for being good. We drove home where I and my brothers helped unload the groceries. Mama and I worked together to put the groceries away in the cabinet and refrigerator. The weekly task was completed. Soon it would be time for the Saturday morning cleaning and making tuna salad which was also a weekly event. As I played in my room I would hear Mama call, “Sherian, come here please”. I would go in to see what she needed from me. To my surprise she would have the paddle in her hand.
She would call me to her and say “do you remember that I told you to behave at the store and you disobeyed?”
“Yes” I would cry. “But I thought you forgot!”
Mama would patiently remind me that she didn’t forget when one of her children disobeyed her. She had to obey God and remind us to obey her.
Sure enough, I’d get the spanking she promised. The one she promised and never said another word about. The one that hurt my heart much more than it hurt my back side. Mama’s spankings hurt much worse than Daddy’s ever did. Once or twice I even fake cried just so she’d stop. It was definitely the heart that hurt more with hers than anything.
Looking back on it, I was always surprised that she would be so calm and that she would remember to discipline us after all that she did that day. As a parent now, I realize that it wasn’t so much that she spanked us but that she was consistent.
When Mama said she was going to do something she did it! If she said we were going to be spanked we were spanked. If she said we were going to get a treat then we got a treat. If she said she’d always love us no matter what then she would love us no matter what.
Mama was like that.
She kept her word, stayed calm and was consistent. She wasn’t perfect but did strive to follow her Heavenly Father. After all, that’s what our Heavenly Father does. He doesn’t scream and holler at us to command us to do right. He gently leads us and encourages us to be obedient. If we fail to follow his beckoning then we reap the consequences.
That’s a blessing we can depend on. You see, Mama forgave me every single time for those childish ways but I still reaped what I had sowed. Blessings come in all forms. If we look for them we will find them.
Have you spotted your blessing today?
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