My Take
DiVoran Lites
This week I wrote the wrong day in my journal. Wait, before you get in a tizzy, think about what Mother would have said. “You’ll never know the difference a hundred years from now.” You’re right, Mother, I thought and went on with what I was doing.
Like most mothers, mine had an abundance of things to say. Sometimes she was joking, or I hoped she was, as when she would say, “Now don’t be afraid of the storm, if lightning strikes you, you’ll never know the difference.” I must say, I have no fear of lightning, so she must have been on the right track. Afraid someone might kidnap you? Here’s what Mother would say: “Don’t worry, the minute they get you under a street light they’ll bring you right back.” Want to run away to Grandmother’s house, but wonder how you’re going to get the fifty miles down the mountain by yourself when you’re only a kid? Mother’s suggestion: “Here’s a nickel, don’t spend it all in one place.”
How about if your dress has a small spot on it and you’re ready to go out the door? “They’ll never know the difference on a galloping horse.”
Mother had some nice saying, too. She learned them from Auntie Elvira her first Sunday school teacher, who was my first Sunday school teacher too. When my brother and I fought the word was, “Be ye kind, one to another, tender, loving, forgiving each other.” Okay, Mom, I’ll try. If I wanted to say something bad about someone who had hurt my feelings she’d caution, “Ask yourself: is it kind, is it true, and do I have to tell it.” At least one of those is going to have a no, so forget it.
Ephesians 6:1 Children obey your parents for this is right.



