Life Lessons From Mom - Oops!

The past few weeks have been challenging, at best. I lost two dear friends and had a serious bout with food poisoning. It has been seven months since my mom passed away and I can still hear her voice in my head.  My mom was such a wise lady and had an amazing sense of humor.  She would tell us a story and before she could finish it, she would make herself laugh.  

Today was one of those days when her sayings were rolling around in my head.  I was in bible study and we were studying the stories of Abraham and Ishmael and of Isaac and Esau.  Our bible study leader asked why we thought people repeated the same mistakes over and over. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out "It's because they don't believe that fat meat is greasy!" The entire group began to laugh and I had to laugh myself.  That was one of my mom's sayings whenever we did something that she told us not to do and then reaped the consequences of our actions.

Why do we make the same mistakes that our parents have made, especially when we know what the outcome is going to be? We can tell our children stories of our own childhood mistakes and they still won't learn until they try it and fail on their own. My bible study leader said it best "That is the human condition in a nutshell!"  

I talked to a mom today who was so sad that her child made a serious mistake that the mom worked so hard to help the child avoid.  I could feel her pain as she told the story.  She told me, in detail, all the efforts she made to explain to her child how to avoid making this mistake.  That was still not enough to keep her child from this situation.  I told her that sometimes our best efforts cannot keep our children from themselves. Sometimes, all we can do is pray for our children and make every effort not to wear them out by telling them "I told you so!"  There is nothing stopping you from whispering "You didn't believe fat meat was greasy, did you?" Of course, I wouldn't recommend this for serious situations.  

I never cease thanking the Lord for a mom who taught me so much about life and living. I pray you have a great week and take some time to laugh. It will make even the worse situations bearable.  

DJ