Honor Your Parents
July 14
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12
After five years of seeing the continental United States from a pickup truck and travel trailer, my parents were considering slowing down. Having sold their home to pay for their retirement vacation, they were thinking about selling the RV package to buy a small house, or buy into an assisted living community. What they didn’t know was that my husband, Joe, and I had been talking about purchasing a house large enough to accommodate our family, and Mom &Dad, nearer to where we worked.
I must admit, I was more hesitant than Joe. But God gave us peace about it, and we decided to broach the subject with Mom during the next catch up phone call. When Mom called that Friday, I told her we’d been considering moving to the Mt.Vernon, Ohio area to be closer to our jobs. In a bold move for Mom, because she doesn't ask for much of anything, she responded, “Would you and Joe think about getting a home where a grandma and grandpa could live as well?” I laughed as I shared with her that Joe and I had been talking and praying about that very situation!
From that point forward, God opened and closed doors to guide each and every move, allowing us to have the desired space within our budgets, and see the dream fulfilled. I learned that if you truly open your heart and allow God to lead you, wonderful things will happen!
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Without our parents we would be nothing…as in: we wouldn’t exist! Even considering that not all children are elated at their choice of parents; today’s text has proprietary significance. It is the first commandment with a promise. The Bible says, if we honor our parents, barring foolish and unforeseen mistakes on our part, God will always provide us with shelter.
Honoring our parents is the first step in honoring God. If we can’t do one, we aren’t doing the other. Not all of us will be called to board our parents. However…we are all called to bestow on them the honor they deserve. Besides…we owe them BIG!
Prayer
“Help me always bring honor to my parents, Lord, and glory to Your Name. Amen.”
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