Truth or Consequences

Friends, I'm dating myself today. When I was a little girl, our family watched Truth or Consequences every night. I remember it airing at 7:30, just before I headed off to bed. We loved the wacky stunts. We tried, oh so hard, to guess the right answer to the trivia questions. Fun times!

In real life, truth or consequences is not so fun. When one of my kids (who shall remain anonymous) came home from school yesterday, s/he reported that it was a great day. S/he further reported that s/he did not get a "skittle" today, because s/he is "fasting treats." Usually, a skittle is the day end reward for making good choices. Kids will do a lot for one little skittle!

Getting this one ready for the bus this morning, I pulled out his/her daily folder to sign off as I do every day. Usually, I do that right after school, but we had piano lessons and church yesterday, so it didn't get done until this morning. Sadly, the folder included a note that this one pulled a star for talking in class, a definite respect rule violation! Truth exposed. Ouch.

My child, chagrined, got coat, shoes and backpack ready. We stood together to pray for the day, just as we always do. This time, my child prayed with a crushed heart. Limp. So sad.

Before we began, I offered God a silent prayer, "Lord, let my prayer build my child up. Help me prepare my child to live for You."

We took each others hands and I began. I prayed a fairly typical school-day prayer, asking for God's kindness and love to shine through, asking for wisdom and learning, and thanking Him for all the wonderful blessings in my child's life, from bus drivers to teachers to fellow students. And then, gently, I said, "It's time for you to ask God to forgive you."

Huge eyes, filled with tears, looked into mine. "You can do it." (Oh, child, admitting our mistakes is so hard.... please learn this today.)

"Dear Jesus, I am sorry I talked in class. I am sorry I lied to my mom." Those eyes looked up again.

"You need to ask forgiveness. Jesus always forgives."

Head drops. Shoulders heave. Tears fall. "Please forgive me."

Perhaps the hardest words ever to say, to Jesus or to anyone.

With a hug and a word of encouragement,  I sent my child out the door. "Dear Jesus, Please let this moment sink in. Help my child learn that the truth is always better than the consequences. Bless my child with a wonderful day. Fill my child with Your love, so much greater than mine."

Amen