by Ricky Doc Sauceda
Colossians 3:20-21- Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
I read Joni Eareckson Tada's "Daily Devotional" today as I do each morning. It referred to a father correcting his child, shortening the grounding period and taking him for ice cream. The contrast compared the Lord's correction, His mercy and His grace. This made me think of my attitude of being a parent to my own three children...especially my youngest.
My Lil' Bambino, Christopher, was a very happy child. He was well behaved and clung to his mom like glue. A true mommy's boy if ever there was one. As he started developing as a child in public school, he was presented with situations where he needed to stand up for himself.
I already knew that he was capable of this. His older brother had a portable am/fm stereo with cassette player. My daughter Teri and Chris were about to listen to some music when Ricky Jr angrily started to unplug the radio and take it away from them. As he was bent over, Chris grabbed a plastic hockey stick and heaved it up and down onto his brother's head.
Ricky Jr fell over and was incapacitated for a short period of time. I was too late to stop Chris from laying the whammy on his older brother but knew what would happen next. I grabbed Chris and ran with him in my arms to my room and shut the door. Within moments Ricky Jr came pounding at the door. He was shouting,"Let me in! He's mine!"
I cannot remember how long I was cooped up in my room with Chris but it was quite a while. This episode represents how each of my children stands up for themselves. There were a few of these type of battles as they were growing up.
As for Chris in particular...he was starting to have issues with boys in his elementary school because of his superior level of intellect - he is very bright. He was a teacher's pet, principal's pet...all due to his high scores on mandatory state tests. He was also a very advanced reader.
Then it happened - the showdown. In gym class he was being attacked by boys. He defeated each one as they confronted him. The last boy was given rougher treatment and Chris demanded to know who was responsible for the attacks. The boy pointed across the gym to the guilty party.
Of all things it turned out to be a boy in a wheelchair. Chris went right over to the boy and without saying a word pulled him out of his wheelchair and beat the living tar out of him. It took several teachers to pull him off of the boy.
I was called to come to the school because there had been an incident. I arrived to find Lil' Bambino sitting troubled and quiet in the office. I hugged him and told him everything would be alright. I did not know any of the circumstances yet; I just knew who my child was.
The school principal was a young man who cared about Chris but was very serious in his tone about the incident. We were left alone to discuss the matter. I asked him to give my his version of what took place. Once I heard his explanation I took a deep breath and then said,"Son, you did the right thing."
I spoke with the principal and Chris in the room one more time. I then promised that my son would be dealt with properly. Then we left and walked to my truck. We talked and I decided to take him for a TCBY frozen yogurt. I did not punish him because there was justification in his actions.
I shared the story with his brother and sister later at home. We then shared it with his mom after she arrived home from work. This remains a high-lite in our memories.
I stood by my son because he stood up for himself. I hope that all parents do that. Our children need us to be their friend, guide and confidant in life. Always.