"Remember Barky!"

Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. 

"Isaac, don't throw Barky in the air. He is has parts that will break. He is not a stuffed dog. He is mechanical and is more delicate"

"Mom, he's fine. He thinks it's fun...(SOBS) Oh, no! Barky's leg broke!!! He can't walk anymore." (More and more HARD, HARD SOBS for Barky, his dog pet that Grandpa Craig got him because Isaac is allergic to real dogs)

"Isaac, what did I tell you? You did not obey or trust Mommy and it did not go 'well with you,' did it? (Louder SOBS) I love you, son, and instruct you to protect you. God has given me a great job as a mother to love, protect, train, and guide you, but you know I cannot protect you if you disobey me." (Seriously, I have never heard this kid sob this much in his life)

"Mom, I know you said...but I thought he would be fine because..."

"Remember that 'the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel,' Prov 12:15." (Wow, even louder SOBS...also because he realized that we actually could not fix Barky for him).

Here is the PRAISE:
We were able to praise God for this moment of suffering. We praised God that it was Barky's leg broken because of Isaac's sin, not his own. We praised God for this tangible example of how it does not go well when we disobey Mom and Dad. We praised God that He can turn us from our foolishness and trust Him with what is right, even when we think our own (truly foolish) way is better. I prayed that Isaac would "REMEMBER BARKY" when he got older. That when he thinks it is okay to text while driving, go faster than the speed limit, be unkind to a person who has hurt him, eat or drink what is not profitable or make another choice that is against what he has been told is right according to the Scriptures, Dad, Mom, or any other God given authority, he will "REMEMBER BARKY." I do praise God for teaching moments in our lives, though they may be painful. I praise Him that, when we trust Him, we learn and grow and are protected from our own foolishness that only leads to sorrow. I pray that I, too, "REMEMBER BARKY."