IT'S FOR THE BETTER

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28

The year was 2010. Little five-year-old me had just gotten back from kindergarten, but I was noticeably grumpy. Why? Well, I had stayed awake during nap time at school and I was not having my way with anything. I had made quite the scene, and if you have a mom like mine, that behavior is quite unreasonable. So, I was faced with my greatest enemy: time out. The worst thing about it was that my mom would never specify how long I would be quarantined from playtime. It was a waiting game, and no five-year-old I have ever met enjoys waiting. My mom knew that if she sent me to my room, I would find something to entertain myself with, so she sent me to my dad’s work office where there were no toys, no snacks, and no TV. The only thing she had said while walking me into the room was, “Make sure not to touch anything, especially the hole puncher, stapler, or scissors.” So, I sat on the lonely couch and observed the room. Eventually, I spotted some sticky notes and pens. I got up out of the chair ever so slightly to retrieve the items for doodling. After I had filled up all the papers, I remembered the stapler. I started to staple my little comic book together, and even though I knew my mom told me not to, nothing bad was happening, so I did not see a problem. I had hardly finished piecing the book together when CRUNCH! The stapler had pierced through a couple of my fingers. Out of immediate reaction to the pain, I yelled, and of course, my mom heard me. She came rushing into the room to see what happened. She then hurried me over to the nearest sink to remove the staples and clean my hands. While she was helping me wash up, she began to tell me that, although I was enjoying myself and could not see how the stapler was going to hurt me, she was not taking away any sort of fun the stapler could have provided. Instead, she was trying to prevent me from getting hurt. Just like how my mom gave me rules so that I would not get hurt, God gives us commandments to live by so that we do not have to suffer. God knows that living by His rules will help us refine our character and be as close to Him as possible.

By: Isabella Yaste ('23)

Charlotte, North Carolina