Living the Third " Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"

Love begins at home. Honor your parents and you honor no less than yourself.

Long before the meaning become clear-love-you received it. Breathing life, nourishing that fragile body, stemming the flood tears when your first and only love said goodbye. Love abounded and abided.

The 3rd commandment wxhorts us to honor our parents. It didn's say how. So our ever enterprising merchants showed the way and provided the mercahndise. Not to longa go we only ahd Christmas, and now we rate Mother' and Father's day.Eventually, our grandparents had their day, too. Setting aside special time for extra special people ought to be done much. Even overdone. if only to focus our attention to the essential and quickly passing. Quality time spent with quality people.

yet we ofte take them for granted. They're busy, anyway. Work, always working. never mind taht is for us. We choose to think tyhat they pay attention to us only when we fail to live up to their expectations, we don't study hard enough, or mindlessly pursue our multi-tasking stints in front of the TV, computer, and telephone (0while simultaneously texting taht very same person we're talking to). Then, when it's toime for our annual retreat, or just one of those terrible days when conscience pays a visit, we wonder if we have honored, respected and loved our parents enough. Most likely not. Sounds familia?r? Bless me father for i have sinned... disobeyed my parents... been disrespectful... told some white lies, etc...

Honoring takes more than taken the gift giving, using po or opo another outward sigh\ns of affection. We don't discount these, but we need more as we grow older, mercifully wiser. WE honor our parents with our hearts . Each time we consciously (minus the grumbling and matching tantrum effects) attend to our studies, do our bit at home, not waste time (not to mention allowance money) trekking the malls and billiard halls, we give and share whatever love we have deep within.

We show our respect by not saying 'yes' when we mean a 'no' instead. Everytime we create an alibi to go someplace we shouldn't be, we unwittingly say no to their admonitions for us to avoid those places and people. Sure they cannot be expected to always be in sync with our adolescent needs and craving for adventure. Still, they know and can see what we don't. their collective experience have prepared them for the task of looking aftr our welfare and best interest. Though, of course, we may not toatally agree. Wait till you become a parent.

We honor them by not hurting ourselves in order to hurt them back whenever we can't get our way. Rebellion, its subtlest form, harms us, too.

There certainly are no ahrd and fast rules when it comes to loving, honoring and respecting. Be it ourselves or others. We learn in time and with patience. Tall order, indeed. Never easy and hardly free. Anything in aid of growth never is. We amke countless, repeated mistakes, learn along the way, harbor regrets and always, always just keep on loving. God graciously accepts our sincere ering. WE give it our best shot, God will provide whatever is missing or lacking and even throws a us.