"All discipline FOR THE MOMENT seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been TRAINED by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11
The Heavenly Father is still in the business of rescuing spiritual terrorists.
With the insight gained from a second season-of-life at parenting, Linda states it succinctly, "You can’t negotiate with a terrorist!"
I remember with great clarity having to coach a child’s first spanking. It was "date night" for the Rempels, and I had arrived home from the office just a little bit late. The babysitter was at our home, and Linda was ready to go. (Now this might be hard for most of you to comprehend, but back when our children were in need of a babysitter, cell phones had not yet been created!) If I had actually pulled myself free from the office as planned, we would have missed the call completely. (Imagine that…a life before answering machines had been installed as well!) But JUST as we headed out the door, the phone rang (Yup…pre-caller ID also). As Linda heard the distressed mother on the other end of the line, she indicated that I definitely ought to take the call. The crisis? Their son had run away from home. Well actually, their son WAS running away from home. He had done so earlier in the afternoon, but having traveled three blocks, he decided he needed to come back and get some clothing and a sandwich. At the time of the call, he was in his room wrapping up some clothes and the mother was desperately pleading for my intervention to prevent his leaving again as he was promising to do.
