The Only Time Mom Scolded Me
by Oliver Carlos
I guess I was a good boy. Proof is, my Mommy scolded me just once in my growing years. Yes, just once. I remember my Dad scolding me quite a number of times. That’s just normal. Daddy was the family’s disciplinarian. But for Mommy to blow her top, you must have done something really grave. I can only remember one instance when she really gave me a fierce rub-down sermon, and I carried it all the way to my adulthood.
When I was in Grade 1, I was a very independent, studious and diligent pupil. I did my homeworks by myself without procrastination. One night, I have just finished a homework that I would submit the following morning. I wrote it on one of my notebooks that had those red-and-blue horizontal lines. It took me quite a number of minutes to finish it, and I felt so fulfilled having it done.
Dinner time came, so I left my notebook in the bedroom where I made it. After dinner, I returned to the bedroom to fix my things for tomorrow’s class. When I returned to the bedroom, I had the shock of my life. The pages of my notebook were all over the floor! They all had doodles. Some were ripped and some were crumpled. There stood my younger sister, still holding the main notebook in one hand, and a pencil on her other hand. She was looking up at me smiling as if saying she can also do some schoolwork too like the big kids. My sister was around 4 years old at that time, not yet old enough to be in school, but wanting to be in school.
I got so filled with anger that I blacked out. I really felt so bad seeing my homework ruined. And you know what happened next. Good thing Mommy rushed in pulled me away to a corner. She knelt down so she can talk to me eye to eye. “Ikaw and panganay, ikaw ang dapat magparaya,” she said. I was the eldest sibling, so I should be the one to understand the younger. She explained that whoever has an understanding of the situation, he should be the one to forgive the other and give way, because the other person doesn’t have a deep understanding of things.
Then I looked at my little sister. She was still crying out loud. At that point, my heart melted. I realized that my sister didn’t know what she was doing. She thought that she was doing a good thing, pretending to be a schoolgirl. She was just having fun. She was in great shock and confusion because of my reaction to her deed. I felt so bad for her, and I felt so guilty for my wrongdoing.
Since that day, I changed. I learned what self-control is all about. Through my growing years, I never developed a bad temper. God gave me the grace to develop the skill of seeing the whole picture to understand others who aggrieved me, so I can forgive them and move on. I thank God for using my Mom and my sister to teach me this very important lesson.
The Bible teaches about forgiveness too. In Colossians 3:12–14 (ERV), the apostle Paul wrote:
“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity.”
Friend, this lesson is not only for the eldest child, but for everybody. Who are the people you need to forgive today? Forgive as the Lord Jesus forgave you.
