Learning a Lesson
Sometimes our kids don’t learn a lesson by watching us do something that’s good. Sometimes they learn a lesson by watching us do something so bad. I hate to even write this post because I sound like such a jerk. However, when the Lord lays something on your heart and it just won’t go away, you just have to bite the bullet and do it. So, here I go…
A couple of weeks ago my dad lent us his tiller so we could start a garden. Tried as we could, the thing wouldn’t crank so we took it to get it repaired. When we picked it up we were hit with a pretty expensive repair bill. So I called my dad and let him know and asked him to pay half. Of course, he said he’d pay all of it but I told him we’d get the other half. Now that doesn’t sounds so bad until you know how good my dad has been to me. Let me fill you in with the big parts…
My Daddy paid for me to go to college. He told me, “Finish in four years, and I’ll pay for all of it.” He did. He paid my insurance through college even though I had 13 wrecks in 6 years. Yep, you read that right. He sold us the house we grew up in for a great deal and when we sold it to move, he let us keep the equity. All of it. He wouldn’t take a dime. He let us stay in a little house he owned for free while we fixed up our new house for A WHOLE YEAR! See where I’m going with this? And I asked him to pay for a tiller. Yep, I sure did.
I posted on Facebook a couple of days ago that we were finally debt free. I felt so great about it reading all of the comments and seeing all of the likes. Then I went outside and saw that tiller. I. Felt. Like. Crap. I wanted to call my dad right there but it was getting late so I decided to wait until 9:30 the next morning. At 9:23 I couldn’t take it any longer. I called him and told him that I was so sorry for asking for money to fix that tiller. I thanked him so much for everything he did for me and told him I’d love to pay for that tiller’s repair bill. Of course he said, “No, I’ve got it.” That’s how he is but this time, it’s on me. I’ll never be able to repay him for everything he’s done for me but I can start somewhere. I can start with that tiller.
In the midst of all of this, my kids overheard the conversation and I told them what their dumb ole momma had done and how wrong I had been. Sam told me it was like parable in the bible where two debts were forgiven, one large and one small. Which person in debt felt the most grace? The person with the biggest debt of course. I think it’s like that man who had his debt forgiven and then asked his servant to pay up and refused to forgive the debt as his had been forgiven. To say I was convicted is an understatement. So, if I had to post my debt free comment again, I’d say I was able to reach it because of two fathers that love me, my Heavenly Father and my Earthly Father. Neither one has ever asked for anything in return. Neither one has ever brought up a debt that they’ve forgiven. My Dad has probably already forgotten how dumb I was about all of this because that’s just how he is. I’m so glad that God can use something that is so wrong to teach us and show us how good he is. Thank you God for everything you’ve done for me and thank you Daddy. I love you both so much.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.-Luke 7:41-43 (The Parable of the Two Debtors)
“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’…Matthew 18:31-33 (The Parable of the Wicked Servant)
Elizabeth Doan is married to her hubby David for 14 years. Mother to four wonderful kiddos: Sam (10), Sarah (8), Evie Joy (4), and Sadie Rose (6 months). Homeschooling Momma for 4 years with 17 years to go! Elizabeth’s favorite quote in the whole wide world is: “Life is frittered away by details. Simplify, simplify.” -Henry David Thoreau
Blessings,
Elizabeth