Honor your father and your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,
Ephesians 6:2 (NIV)
During the early stages of the pandemic, my mom called me, and instead of saying hello she said, “Your father is going to kill me!” I could hear my dad behind her saying, "Don't believe her, she's overreacting!" Since I know my dad is not an abuser, I kept quiet until my mom finished explaining herself. She told me that my dad had been talking to someone without wearing a mask.
Throughout my mother's narration, I also heard my father saying, “It’s a lie, don't believe her”. Mom finished talking by saying, "Making him stop". Not knowing what else to say, I told her, “Mom, I cannot do that, I'm not my dad's mom,” and they both started laughing. I do not know what my mom thought I could do to get my dad to behave, but that kind of call or request is becoming more and more common among us. Sometimes dad is the one who complains to me about mom.
Eventually, if we are blessed, we will reach the age where our parents need us more and more. The role that each of us has in the family changes. Without God's grace, these changes can be difficult for the parents and their offspring. When dealing with children, you make decisions for them, and they have no choice but to obey us. How do we make decisions for our parents, when they occasionally act like children and do not intend to obey us? For example, how do we convince them to take the medicine they do not want to take but need?
The answer is simple, we do what the Bible tells us. We honor them. We speak to them with respect. We are patient with them and persevere until we convince them to do what they do not want to but must do. It is time for them to reap the harvest of the seeds they planted in us. It is time for them to reap the harvest of all those sleepless nights, the efforts to make sure we had everything we needed, and the trips to the hospital with broken bones that they endured with us. Now all those seeds must produce for them a harvest of love and patience. We must do for them a fraction of what they did for us.
Enjoy your parents now because you will not have them forever. Invest time with them even if you have a busy schedule. Soon the only thing you will have will be memories and if today you do not spend time with them, maybe tomorrow you will spend time blaming yourself for not having appreciated them enough. Take care of them and love them as they took care of you and loved you.
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