You Can’t Fool Mom
Where we lived when our son was 2, was on the top of a high hill above a river in Illinois (a river that I grew up on and played in as well growing up). Anyway, my wife went out for the day leaving me in charge of our 2-year-old son. A friend came over and we walked down to the river to fish.
All my fishing attempts have been, for the most part, unsuccessful in catching fish. Also, I have never enjoyed the communing with nature aspect that other people bring up so I would say I’m not a fisherman. That day was no different, we spent several hours without catching anything while our son played on the river bank near us.
He was balancing on a rock near the river’s edge when he fell into the river. Of course, I jumped up and grabbed him by his overalls but he was dirty and soaked. Our fishing was over. We walked up the hill and I thought I’d better clean him off before I took him in. What better way to do that then hose him off and then take off his clothes and take him in. I left the clothes outside to dry in the sun and finished cleaning him up and redressing him.
Well, my wife (his mother) came home and immediately wanted to know why his wet clothes were outside. I would like to think I couldn’t lie to her, and that was mostly true, but I just didn’t think it was significant enough that he fell into the river so I told her the whole story. Oh my gosh, you would have thought that I told him to play in the street or stick his tongue in an outlet. I got read the riot act up one side and down the other. I felt about 2 inches tall.
In my age-based wisdom, I doubt I would take a 2-year-old to a river to fish now because I’d understand the risk/reward equation would not be in my favor. And, today’s young parents, from what I can tell, are even more risk adverse than my wife was all those years ago.
“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” - Proverbs 31:10-12, 26-31 ESV
“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” - John 16:21
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” - Psalm 127:3-4
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” - 1 John 3:1-3
As I remember this story, I’m trying to figure out whether God is like the mother chastising us for how we treat each other or like the father watching over his son even when he does irresponsible things. Maybe some of each.
