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Written by Mary Lee Johnston
It took a dramatic incident to show me I had misjudged my son years before.
I was driving down the road early one morning as the sun was coming up, when suddenly a black panther leaped across the road with a fish in its mouth—right in front of my car!
It frightened me! I slammed on the brakes, but I almost hit it. Then it was gone into the thick wooded area as suddenly as it appeared.
As I continued down the road, my mind triggered the memory of an incident that happened many years before. That caused an instant response—a prayer: “Forgive me, Lord!”
Unbelievable!
Many years before, my son had come home and told me, “Mom, I saw a black panther in the field on my way home.”
I did not believe him. I gave him a lecture about making up stories and saying it was true when it was not true, reminding him of the Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:16). But he continued to say it was true.
This was the second time he had told me something I did not believe. The time before he told me he had seen a bobcat in the woods. Both instances were within a quarter mile of our home. In those days our neighborhood was more rural, but I still did not believe his stories were possible.
I dropped the subject. But he knew I did not believe him. Both times I lectured him about telling the truth. However, I did not have proof. I doubted.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
After the panther jumped in front of my car, I stopped at the ranger’s station and inquired about black panthers in Florida. The ranger said, yes, there were about 100 black panthers that they knew about. The panthers travel a radius of 100 miles. He confirmed that black panthers are in Florida—and they swim!
That day was a revelation to me. I knew now that my son had been telling the truth. But sadly, he had died long before, and it was too late for me to tell him. Someday, in the resurrection, I will tell him I am sorry I had not believed him.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today! Parents do make mistakes. Don’t be too quick to make a judgment, and do be quick to apologize when you make a mistake.
Some parents are too quick to believe their children can do no wrong, and so their children do not receive the proper correction when they need it. But sometimes we are too quick to think our children are wrong. I am thankful I only lectured my son about telling the truth and the need to obey God’s commandments, rather than punishing him.
My only spanking
This also brings to my mind the only spanking I got as a child. It was for lying. My brother and I were having a pillow fight between our rooms upstairs over the dining room.
My mother called upstairs and asked, “Are you throwing pillows?” We quickly stopped and answered, “No.” She came up the stairs, and I was promptly spanked. I deserved it. Even though I had stopped, I was trying to deceive when I said, “No.”
Many years later when I was grown and had a child of my own, I asked my mother how she knew I had lied. She said the feathers from the pillow were coming down through the open register.
(Our house had an open register from the downstairs to the bedroom above so the heat from the potbelly stove would reach it.)
She had proof.
The whole truth
Parents make mistakes. Make sure you have the whole truth. I am so thankful my mother spanked me for lying. It really taught me a lesson. I never forgot that incident. I knew I was wrong and deserved the punishment, and the punishment fit the crime.
I tried to be a good mother when my son was growing up. I desired to teach him the Ten Commandments and was disappointed when I thought he was not obeying God’s commandments. But my son was not a child who practiced deceit, and I realized years later I should have given him the benefit of the doubt.
I knew he was not perfect. But to my surprise, he was more just than I was.
Mary Lee Johnston is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, congregation in Ocala, Florida.
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