Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Don't Touch the Flowers


I was five or six years old and I had just come home from school and was heading to my room to change into play clothes. On my way upstairs, Mom warned, "Don't touch the flowers on the bathroom wall."

This instruction was clear, even to a six-year-old. What wasn't clear was why not to touch the flowers. Sure, I could have simply obeyed the instruction; the reason why could have been because Mom said so. The flowers, however, were big and beautiful. They were formed from thickly textured oil paint in mauve, pink, red, brown, green, and yellow. And they were just above my line of vision.

Why not touch one? I wanted to find out.

I touched one.

Oh! Don't touch because the paint is not dry and it will come off onto your fingers.

Just grab the hand towel and wipe it off.

Oh! Now there is paint on the towel!

Just toss it down the laundry chute.

.........UH oh, MOM does the laundry.

At this point, I needed to come clean and tell Mom.

Memoir Notes: 
In order to grow and progress as individuals, it is essential that we are able and willing to learn. We learn to eat, crawl, walk, read, ride a bicycle, sing a song, write  and obey -- all through the process of trial and error, supported by memory.

Our basic needs, instincts and desire for exploration and self preservation provide the impulse for trial. We venture forth to see if our idea will work.

Making a mistake or failing to succeed signals an error, causing the healthy individual to try again, but to do it in a different way in order to achieve success.

This is how a healthy person learns, grows, and matures.

Memory is the part of our brain that helps us learn from our successes and our mistakes. Yet,without the ability to store information that can be retrieved to repeat a task, we are not able to function beyond instinct.

Aside from the compromised brain, whether through birth defect or some kind of illness or injury, there are times when a person will block a memory, thus preventing growth in that area. Children who have been exposed to trauma, for example, will often self-protect by repressing the memory. This is different than merely forgetting; it is the ability to close the memory in a box and store it in an undisclosed --irretrievable -- location. A child who does this will become "stuck" in the emotional state they were in when the trauma was experienced, thus preventing emotional development, the lack of a memory blocking growth.

Sometimes, memory is so painful that the brain does a rewrite, creating a false story or even an entirely different personality.

Other times, the individual wants to avoid the consequences of his action and he will deny that he remembers an error. The memory is overwritten with a lie.

Whatever the cause, the inability or unwillingness to learn from our mistakes has devastating effects on our future.

Remembering well is crucial to living well.

Recognizing and admitting error is the foundation of life.

I was blessed with a mother who understood the limitations of my age. She forgave me. She repaired the flower and washed the towel. I learned the lesson of cause and effect that day and I never forgot.

Not surprisingly,the willingness to admit personal error is also the first step toward a relationship with God.

We are all blessed with a heavenly Father who knows the limitations of our humanity. We sin -- all of us. Sin is error. When we admit our error, He forgives us. His precious Son washes away the stain left by our error and he gives us a new life.

31 Days Exploring Memoir_list
Through the Old Milk Box
Write A Memory In Six Words
Don't Touch the Flowers
Use a Pencil
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Precious Readers

My Father's Words

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Love never fails

Father's Love Letter

An Intimate Message from God to You:

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad.... ...Almighty God

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