Are You Ready

 

     Back in the forties, when I was in the third grade, paddling was one of the ways teachers disciplined students. I specifically remember one cold winter day during recess when I learned disobeying my teacher would have consequences. 

     Several of my friends and I were playing chase when we spotted one of the teachers sitting in a chair, wearing a beautiful dark mink coat. She was there to monitor the children's activities on the playground.

     One of the girls ran up to her and asked, "Do you care if we feel your coat?"

     After she gave us permission, we surrounded her and rubbed the soft fur. After a while, she asked us to stop. The only problem was that we didn't listen! None of us had ever seen a mink coat before, and we were so intrigued that we just kept rubbing.

     Since we wouldn't stop, she marched us to the school building. Knowing we were in trouble, I tried to sneak away, but she caught me. We were taken into the classroom, where one by one, we had to lean over her desk and endure several swats with her paddle.

     That day I learned that I needed to obey my teacher because there were consequences when I didn't. Sometimes we don't understand why someone in authority tells us to do something, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't listen. Learning to obey is an important part of growing up.

Listen

If God tells you not to, will you disobey,

Because in your mind you just don't care?

What if He tells you not to go but to stay?

Perhaps you think He just isn't being fair.

The sheep of the Shepherd know His voice.

They follow Him with trust in their hearts,

 Listening to His Word is their choice,

And obeying Him is where wisdom starts.

                                Patricia Westbrook

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27, NKJV