One Summer

A mother and father were in the process of driving their 11-year-old son to a relative's house in the country. It seems the parents were at their wits ends from having to deal with their uncontrollable child who wanted everything to go his own way. "Me! Me! Me! Mine! Mine! Mine!" seemed to be the boy's life philosophy. If he wanted a particular toy, or wanted pizza for lunch every day, he whined and complained until he got what he wanted. It didn't matter if his tired parents wanted to relax a bit after a long day at work. If the boy wanted to blast the TV and jump on the couch, his desires were paramount.

There was not much talking in the car. When they arrived at Aunt Jane's farm, she was there waiting for the boy. The car door opened, the boy, carrying his suitcase, got out, and without another word the parents drove off. The boy did not seem to mind. Without even so much as a hello to his dear Aunt Jane, the boy ran off to visit with all the farm animals.

When supper time came, Aunt Jane and the boy sat down to eat the feast she had prepared for her special guest. "Yuck! I hate corn on the cob!" shouted the boy as he pushed his plate away. "Well then, why don't you have some fried chicken, mashed potatoes and salad?" Aunt Jane asked the boy in a pleasant voice. The boy gazed at the food and said, "Do you have any pizza? Why don't we order a pizza!" Aunt Jane looked at the boy sternly and said, "This is what we have, and this is what we will eat." "Then I'm not eating!" yelled the boy. "Suit yourself," replied Aunt Jane calmly.

When morning came, the boy was famished. He was so hungry in fact, that he didn't even notice he was eating eggs and bacon, something he usually refused to eat at home. "After breakfast, we have lots of chores to do," stated Aunt Jane. "Chores!" shouted the boy, "I want to play!" "Well," said Aunt Jane, "Out on the farm we have a saying: Those who will not work, will not eat. There will be plenty of time for playing later." The boy grumbled and scowled as he gathered the eggs from the chickens, put fresh hay in the barn for the horses, gave the cows water, and picked a basket of string beans for supper. And, as Aunt Jane had promised, there was time for play.

Every day for the remainder of the summer, the boy did his chores and cherished the time he had to play and visit with the farm animals. The boy developed such an interest in the horses that Aunt Jane taught him how to saddle, horseshoe and ride a horse. The boy was very pleased with himself.

It was the end of summer and it was time for the boy to leave his Aunt's farm. He became sad thinking of how he would miss the farm animals, "his" horse and surprisingly, Aunt Jane.

"What's the matter dear?" asked Aunt Jane as she brushed the boy's hair from his eyes. The boy sniffled and shrugged his shoulders, too embarassed to speak his mind. "I think I know why you feel this way," said Aunt Jane with a wise look about her face. "Your mom and dad are coming soon and you aren't sure if you should be happy or sad about that. You know that you were pretty nasty at home. You think your parents might not want you any more. Isn't that true?"

"I guess so," said the boy quietly.

Aunt Jane lifed the boy's chin gently upward, and then asked, "Do you feel like the same boy as you were before your parents brought you here, or do you feel different?"

The boy stopped to think. "I feel different," he replied.

"Good!" said Aunt Jane, "Because you are different! Remember that!"

Just then, the door swung open and the boy's mother and father excitedly entered. With tears running down her face, the mother grabbed her son and hugged him. "Oh how we missed you!" she cried. Just as the boy looked up, his father put his hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "We have to talk."

For the rest of the evening, Aunt Jane stayed in her bedroom reading as father, mother and son sat in the living room and expressed regrets, cried, laughed and made plans for the future. "We all have made many mistakes," said father, "But thank God that we recognized our mistakes and can go on from there."

Summary: "Thank God" is indeed true. Like the boy and parents in this story who were so self-involved that they ended up hurting those around them, sometimes what we all need is a gentle reminder of what is truly important in life. Thank God our Heavenly Father can lead us to a better way.

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Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2005 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living: A Christian marriage manual and Life-guide", "Son Salutations" and "Daily Contemplations", a collection of read-one-a-day modern inspirations. For more information, visit http://www.melanieschurr.com