Every now and then, being the younger, forever smaller sibling, I would end up in the shadow of my big brother’s angry side. Vic was six-feet tall in seventh grade. To this day, he still outweighs me by two large bags of dog food. On a couple of occasions, I wound up in need of medical attention, but most of the time, I was just a little bruised. In retrospect, I ended up being the one who used size to my advantage; it just sometimes took Mom a little longer to save me than I hoped, and then Dad would handle the rest. Often, being the little guy, one must be resourceful.
If there was one thing my mother had that helped her the most in raising a pair of rambunctious country boys, it was grace. She needed it, of course, but not nearly as much as my brother and I did. We were not overly wild, as we had respect for our parents, others and God, but in the days of, “Go outside; stay there, and be home before dark,” we had our share of mischief. Most of the time, our father was calm and collected, at least up until the moment when Mom would be pushed to her breaking point, and then she would enlist Dad to do her bidding. We knew when we were not being proper young men; we understood why and accepted the consequences. We also knew we were forgiven and would be graced with more opportunities to learn along life’s winding path.
Because our parents taught us lessons with patience, understanding, an occasional attitude adjustment and always with a hearty helping of grace, we knew they loved us. It provided us with an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and grow stronger, better, wiser. Grace is one of the blessings we receive in life that isn’t earned through our works and actions; grace is a gift, an attribute of love. When we are concerned over what we have done or failed to do, where or how we fell, it is good to remember that there is always His grace to give our mistakes purpose, lift us up, brush us off and help us carry on with our lives.
to your business!