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Honor your father and your mother,

so that you may live long

in the land 

the Lord your God is giving you.

~Exodus 20:11



Good morning dear Sister!

Wow! Elder Darryl made us all sit up straight with his sermon about honor, didn’t he?

Maybe even squirm a little!

We have heard a lot about love; being loved by God, loving others, being kind to one another, showing hospitality to strangers and so forth. But honor, not so much. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be a huge part of our culture to honor ‘ordinary’ people, especially those we live with. 

Why did God command us to honor our parents? Could it be that He wants to teach us to love like He does, with grace, mercy and kindness? He knows that we need His help to do that, especially if our parents were not perfect or didn’t show their love perfectly. 

Remember, this is the land the Lord your God has given you, and your Abba can be trusted!

I was born far too early into a hasty marriage, if you know what I mean. My arrival changed the course of two peoples’ lives quite drastically. Of course, as a child, I didn’t pick up on the negative vibes until I became a teenager. An uncommunicative, seething and frightened teenager. 

I left home at 17, hoping to never see either of my parents, who were divorcing by then. Full of bitterness, rage and guilt, five years passed with me hardly speaking to either of them. It could have stayed like that forever, but then I met the Savior of my bitter soul!

In God’s grace, when we give our sinful selves over to God, He forgives us and cleanses us, but there may still be a lot of untangling to do. I felt convicted by the Lord about my feelings toward my parents and went to the pastors of my church for prayer. 

They counseled me to go to my mother and ask forgiveness for not being the daughter I should be!! Huh?? No way! In my not-so-humble opinion it was more like the other way around!

After a short, but desperate internal battle I overcame my flesh and, in faith, said I would ask for her forgiveness, with the Lord’s help.

They began to pray for me. I’ll never forget it, as they prayed, I began to shake and cry, it was so humbling. Then, I began coughing and hacking, it was really unbecoming, but I sensed that something that had a hold on me was being torn loose out of me! I believe it was a spirit of bitterness. 

I had to sit down and think about what had just happened, but all I could feel was “Praise God, I feel free!!” It wasn’t that I suddenly had overwhelming love for my parents, but I did realize God’s love for them!

I went to my mother and asked for forgiveness. She did the predictable things, recalling every fault and offense I ever committed. (She still does, by the way) She keeps me humble, that’s for sure, but I see her more through God’s eyes than my eyes of flesh. I hope to win her to the Lord one glorious day!

My Dad & I formed a truce. We never really talked about either of our pasts.. He married again and lived happily with his second family until he passed away. 

A few months ago I came across an envelope of old photos that fell out of a photo album. I truly think the Lord singled them out and laid them on the floor for me to pick up. I don’t recall ever seeing them before. 

Spread out in front of me were photos of my Dad as a young man. A military man, perhaps home on leave, back in the ‘50’s. He had his arm around a young girl, a girl whose name I remember was tattooed on his arm, with a big heart. 

His fiance’, but not the girl he married. 

Suddenly, I understood. The life my Dad gave up, because of me. I wish I had known that before he passed away. I asked God to forgive me for my judgemental attitude toward him and for not allowing myself to get closer to him.

Lesson learned.

Now that we’re grown children, we need to remember that our parents were bumbling along life, a lot of times without the Lord, trying to do the best they could with what they had. Which, in some cases, wasn’t much. 

But the Lord still gave them breath and life. And He blessed them with You!

As children of God, we, of all people, should look on our parents with the compassion and love of Christ! No, ‘yeah, but….’  Forgive them! Ask them to forgive you for being such a dunderhead and go on in the freedom of the Lord! 

Jesus said, ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ Mt 5:44

We can honor our parents by praying for them. If they have already passed away, we can honor their memory by not recalling all their transgressions and thanking God that they chose life for you.

It is humbling to be sure, yet God loves us and is patient with us. He says that if we humble ourselves, He Himself will lift us up! (James 4:10)

Father, I pray for every one of us reading these words, that You would pour out Your spirit of grace and mercy so we can honor our parents, living or dead. May those who are living see your glory and steadfast love in a world that is filled with pride and unforgiveness. May we be Your Light in this dark world!

This is a big step, my honorable sister, but we are not alone! Our perfect Parent will help us as we submit to His wisdom and trust in His love for His daughters!

 Keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With much love, your sister, Celeste