When I was six years old, living in Cypress on a one-acre plot with plenty of trees and land around our house, I made the mistake that I will never forget. Mom and I had just went to the store. I was intrigued with mechanical pencils and writing instruments. (Guess I got that characteristic from my dad...) We pulled up in the driveway in the back and were beginning to unload the car. At that moment, the unthinkable happened... my new pencil fell in between the back seat cushion and the seat. Back then, the cars were made a little better, and not everything was one piece.
As I was digging in the seat, frantically, trying to recover my newest addition to the collection of office supplies, these words came out of my mouth, "G-- D-----!" (I don't even like typing it.)
6 years old, mind you... oh, goodness... the events that happened next pretty much changed my path in life. Mom, with her keen sense of hearing then, didn't waste a minute. She flipped open the door, yanked me out, drug me inside the house, directly into the bathroom, and shoved a small bar of soap in my mouth, all while lecturing me and reprimanding me for saying God's name in vain, and cursing. I didn't even have a chance to argue, with lack of being able to breath around the bar of soap. She asked my why I would say that... Again, I couldn't answer clearly. She was angry. She was disappointed. And I felt every bit of it.
After the few minutes (which seemed like 6 hours) of holding my mouth closed with soap in my mouth, and listening to my mother tell me how disappointed not only she was in me, but God was as well, I was broken down. I cried. I apologized. And... I said I'd never do that again.
Mom was definitely the disciplinarian. Dad, well, Dad was Dad. There was discipline with Dad, but not as much as Mom. Mom was full of discernment. She knew right from wrong, and was trying her best to pass that on to me. As reluctant as I was at times, I knew, for a fact, that if I wanted to live my life and be happy, I was to love God, go to church, and never, ever, say those words. 41 years and I still remember.
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Character is built over time. What you do in life can make you or break you. Choose who you surround yourself with carefully. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. There are always people watching and learning from you.
