Honor thy mother and thy father

I wanted to know what would make me a woman.  Was it having a boyfriend?  Was it having a child?  Was it having a job?  I wondered, what would make me FEEL like a woman.  And I found that on my search to my womanhood, I took a lot of missteps.  I filled in too many voids with empty men.  I shed too many tears into rushing waters.  I took less than I deserved at jobs that only ended up working me instead.  


I wanted to know what would make me a woman and I discovered that being a woman first meant being an adult.  An adult makes the conscious decision to take care of their family, first beginning with their mother and father.  An adult recognizes that home must be taken care of at any cost. The 10 commandments only reference two beings - God and thy parents.   It is not until you understand the magnitude of honoring thy mother and father can you be considered an adult.  That is the true right of passage.  This is not to say pay all of their bills or go over and clean their house - this is telling you to kneel and the foot of your parents' crosses.


I was not ready to be a wife until I was ready to be a daughter first.  I could not prepare a meal for a man until I watched my father sit at the head of his table and prepare a meal for him from the rewards of his work.  I could not trust a female friend until I learned to trust my mother's instincts.  I could not forgive another human being until I first forgave my parents.  I was no good to anyone until I was good to them.  That often times means missing out on quality times with friends and significant others.  That often times means doing something they enjoy that I necessarily do not.  But if my parents could work for my whole life, then I must know that I will not have enough time of my own to repay them.  No parent is perfect but the sacrifice is the closest thing to perfection we have on Earth.  


There were times we did not speak in which now, I wish we did.  There were times when we were angry in which now I wish we weren't so destructive.  There were times we spent apart to spend time with other people and now when I look around, those people are not even there.  You owe it to your own reflection to be a better human being than your mother and father.  You owe it to your God to honor and obey as He sees fit.  You owe it to your children to teach them how to care for you by caring for your own parents.  


I say this to you, as God once did, HONOR THY MOTHER AND FATHER, even if your father puts you on a cross and your mother weeps at the base of it.