Leave Me Alone!

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

“Get out!” Angela shrieked. “Leave me alone!”

Her little brother, Collin, was in her room for the tenth time that day. She had asked him and asked him to stay out, but still he came. And he didn’t even knock.

“You can’t make me!” Collin yelled back. Then he picked up her stuffed poodle and threw it across the room at her.

“Stop it! Leave my stuff alone!” she yelled, throwing a pillow at him. “Just go away!”

All of sudden, their mother appeared in the doorway. “What seems to be the problem?” asked Mrs. Stevens.

“Mom, Collin won’t get out of my room, and I’ve asked him a dozen times to leave me alone! He just barges in without permission.”

Mrs. Stevens looked at her son, waiting for an explanation.

“Mom, Angela won’t play with me. She never plays with me any more, and I just want her to come see the castle I built.” He fought to hold back tears, and his voice shook.

Mrs. Stevens let out a heavy sigh. “Well, the way I see it, you were both wrong. Collin, you know better than to go in your sister’s room without permission. Do you have anything you’d like to say to her?”

Collin looked at his sister. “I’m sorry,” he said.

The woman continued. “Angela, Collin was wrong to enter your room without permission. But you were wrong to yell at him. If you had taken the time to listen to him, perhaps he wouldn’t have kept coming back. And if you had explained to him nicely that you wanted to be left alone, I’ll bet he would have honored that.”

Angela took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Collin. What is it you wanted to show me?”

Collin’s face immediately cheered up. He took his sister by the hand and said, “Come on! You’re gonna think this is so cool . . .”

Caught!

Proverbs 1:8 “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

James looked across the field at the hundreds of chocolate brown cows. They looked so gentle and friendly, and he wanted to see one close up. He wondered if he could get close enough to touch one.

I wish we lived out here in the country, he thought. I never get to see cows in the city.

James climbed onto the wooden fence and let his legs dangle over the side. He could still hear Dad’s voice saying, “Don’t go over that fence, Son. There are bulls in there, and bulls aren’t very friendly.”

But Mom, Dad and Rebecca were inside the rented vacation cabin. They would never have to know . . .

Finally, curiosity got the better of him, and he hopped onto the fresh green grass. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he stepped slowly toward the nearest cow. She looked almost beautiful with her big brown eyes and shiny brown coat. He approached gently, not wanting to frighten her.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention. Looking to the left, James saw him . . . a big, fierce-looking bull. Two sharp horns curled out of his head, and steam appeared to be coming from his nostrils and ears as he pawed the ground with his left front hoof. He snorted angrily, and James didn’t wait to see what would happen next!

He just ran. He had never run so fast in all his life! Reaching the fence, he slid under it just as Mama opened the door to call him in for lunch.

Choices at Recess

Romans 12:9 “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

“Mom, why can’t I watch the same cartoons as my friends?” James asked.

“Well, I don’t know. Which cartoon did you want to watch?” Mom questioned.

James sat down on the kitchen stool and watched as his mother loaded the dishwasher. “Tommy watches Dark Force Rescue. All the guys watch it. And at recess, they like to pretend to be the Dark Force team.”

Mom laid the dish towel on the counter and sat down next to her son. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that show. Have I told you not to watch it?” she asked.

James rested his chin on his hands. “No. But I know you wouldn’t like it.”

“Why is that?” Mom asked.

“Because the guys have these eyes that glow red, and they call on evil powers to help them. Then, they use those powers to rescue people.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t like it at all,” she said. “But it sounds like you’ve already watched the show.”

“Yeah. I watched it one day when I was at Tommy’s house.”

They both sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Mom asked, “Is it a show you really want to watch?”

James thought about his answer. “No. It kind of made me feel bad, watching it at Tommy’s. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like it.”

Mom nodded in understanding. “You didn’t like the show, but you also don’t like feeling left out.”

“Yep,” James replied. “I mean, Yes, ma’am.”

Mom propped her elbows on the counter and said, “That’s a tough spot to be in. What do you think you should do?”

James grinned. “I was hoping you would tell me what to do.”

Mom smiled. “Well, I can make rules for you. And you certainly know you won’t be allowed to watch that show. But there’s something even more important than whether or not you watch that show . . . and that’s whether or not you even want to watch the show.”

James shook his head. “No, I really don’t. I’d rather watch something where people get their powers from good things.”

Mom reached over and tousled his hair. “So what will you do at recess?”

James thought a minute. “Well, there is this one kid who doesn’t watch Dark Force Rescue, either. I guess I could play with him.”

Mom stood up and kissed her son on top of his head. “Son, you make me very proud,” she said. “Before you know it, all the kids will want to be playing your game, and they’ll have forgotten all about Dark Force Rescue.”

“Hey, maybe we can make a new team, and call it Light Force Rangers!”

Grandpa

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

“Becca, is Grandpa going to die?”

Rebecca looked at her little brother. She knew James was worried. She was, too. But she didn’t know what to say to him. Finally, she managed a smile. “We’re all going to die, James.”

James sat down next to her on the porch. His shoulders were down, and he looked like he was going to cry. “That’s not what I meant. Is he going to die soon?”

Rebecca put her arm around her little brother. “I don’t know. I hope not. I heard Mom say that the doctors are doing all they can do for his cancer. She also said that we have to trust God.”

“I don’t want Grandpa to die,” he said, and she watched fat teardrops roll down his cheeks and splash on the cement steps.

“I don’t want him to, either. But there’s nothing we can do. It’s in God’s hands.”

The two sat  in silence for a few minutes, each thinking about Grandpa, and how he always made life fun.

After a while, Rebecca sat up. “James, I was wrong.”

“What do you mean?” James asked.

“I said there is nothing we can do. But there is something we can do! We can pray. Mom and Dad always say that praying is the most important thing we can do in any situation.”

James nodded. “Okay. Let’s pray right now.”

Brother and sister bowed their heads. “Dear Jesus,” Rebecca prayed aloud. “Please make our Grandpa better. We aren’t finished with him here. Please help the doctors and nurses to know how to treat him. And help us to trust You, because we know You love Grandpa even more than we do. In Your precious name we pray, Amen.”

“Amen,” echoed James. Then, looking at his sister, he said, “I feel better already.”

“So do I,” Rebecca said, and gave her brother a tight hug.

Sleep Over

Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

“Becca, can I sleep with you?” James whispered into the darkness of his sister’s room.

“James! You woke me up. Go back to your bed,” Rebecca told her little brother.

“Pleeeeeeeease? I heard a noise, and I’m scared,” he told her. She could hear the fear in his voice.

“Why don’t you see if you can sleep with Mom and Dad?” she asked him.

“I already did. They told me to go back to bed. But I’m scared, Becca! Please let me sleep with you.”

Rebecca remembered something she’d heard in church a few weeks ago. Sleepily, she clicked on her lamp and reached for her Bible. “Come here,” she said, and the young boy practically jumped onto her bed.

“Remember the story of Joshua? He was afraid to lead his people into the Promised Land because the people who lived there were giants. But God told Joshua he didn’t have to be afraid.” She opened her Bible to the book of Joshua.

“Here it is,” she showed him. “See, God told Joshua to be courageous, and that He would never leave him, no matter what.”

James smiled and snuggled close, as if for a bedtime story.

“James, you don’t have to be afraid in your room. God will be with you just like He was with Joshua.”

“I know. I feel better already. Thanks, Becca,” James said with a yawn. Before her eyes, her little brother fell sound asleep, taking up more than his share of the bed.

Rebecca chuckled, reached over her little brother, and turned off the lamp. Maybe he could be courageous tomorrow. Tonight, it looked like he was staying right where he was.

Doing it Right

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Rebecca slapped her paper on the kitchen counter and said, “Done! See you later!”

She was almost out the door when her mother called, “Whoa! Hold it just a minute there.”

So close! thought Rebecca as she retraced her steps to the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am?”

Her mother peered at her over the wrinkled notebook page. “Is this your best work?” she asked.

“Well . . .” Rebecca looked at her watch. She was supposed to meet Megan at the corner in three minutes.

“I see four mispelled words, five punctuation mistakes, and I can barely read some of it because you’ve doodled all over the page,” her mother continued.

“Uhm . . . I’m sorry. I promise I’ll fix it as soon as I get back.” Rebecca turned to go, even though she knew better.

“Not so fast. You will stay right here and do this assignment over. I want you to take pride in your work! What if your teacher decided to hang this on the bulletin board. How would you feel?”

Rebecca sighed and looked at her feet. “Embarrassed,” she mumbled.

“The Bible tells us we should do everything as if we are doing it for God. That means we should do our best, always.”

“But Mom, Megan is waiting for me outside! Please, can I do it later?”

Mrs. Smith looked at her daughter thoughtfully. “Go get Megan and invite her inside. She can wait while you do your work. Or you can meet her later. But you’re not going anywhere until this is done right.”

Rebecca gave a heavy sigh. “Yes, ma’am.” Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Megan.

“I thought we were supposed to -” Megan stopped midsentence as Mrs. Smith stepped behind her daughter.

“Rebecca has something she needs to do, but you’re welcome to stay while she finishes,” the woman offered.

For the next half hour, the girls drank milk and ate cookies as Rebecca re-did her assignment. Megan even helped her some. Finally, Rebecca laid the crisp, neat paper on the counter, and Mrs. Smith told them goodbye.

As they were leaving, Rebecca said, “Boy, did I learn my lesson. Next time, it will be easier just to do something right the first time!”