I smile as I read this, because I too had this "drug" problem as a child growing up. I remember thinking through the years on some of the things I was made to do and thought that I had it so bad. My "friends" did not have to do all the work I had to do. I grew up on a farm, and while my friends were out "having a good time," I was drug to the fields to pull weeds out of peanuts, haul watermelons and cantaloupes out of the fields, or carry hot irrigation pipe in the summers. I was at home cleaning house, mowing yards, weeding flower beds, putting up vegetables in the freezer or helping to cook full meals at a very young age, and these are only a few of the things that I was "drug" to do.
I am so thankful I was taught and made to do these things. I think it is so sad when kids are not taught any responsibility or any work ethics. They have so much just given to them and they do not appreciate it. Also, when I did something wrong, I had to go to the switch tree and pick out a switch that my mom would use on me. I knew better than to get too small of one, that only meant I got more punishment. It was not any fun having to pick out my own switch that mom would give me licks with. Not only did I get the licks, I had to sit and listen to her talk to me about how it was going to hurt her more than me. I really could not understand this as a child, because I was the one getting the licks, not her. Having to listen to the talk before the punishment was worse than any licks she would give me.
We had a real-to-real tape recorder in the den and even as a small child I knew how to turn it on and changed the tapes. This tape recorder got a lot of use through the years playing the tapes in our home. These are just a few of my fond memories as a child growing up in this Message.
Also, my mom would take any spare money she had and we would go to Jeffersonville frequently through the years. Instead of putting money in retirement accounts, she spent it driving back and forth to Jeff so we could be in church and for me to have friends in the Message to do things with instead of worldly friends from school. She was looking for a better retirement on the other side. I am so thankful that I had a mother who drug me to do the things she did when I was growing up. She was helping to build a strong foundation in me for this Message and I know she succeeded. I have made plenty of mistakes through the years, we all do, but I love the Lord, believe this Message with all my heart, and nobody can take that away. I also have a husband who loves the Lord and is grounded in this Message. He experienced some of the same "drug" problems: getting drug to church, listening to the tapes, and being taught right from wrong.
I look at the Young Foundation's page frequently and I think so many times how wonderful it is that Brother Joseph is providing the opportunities for these kids today. I know that the peer pressure is so much worse today, but these kids have so many more advantages than we did when I was growing up. I hope that they appreciate all the work that Brother Joseph is doing for the young people. It is keeping their focus on this Message and away from the influence of the world and peer pressure. I really liked the one of Brother Joseph getting the young people to go do the yards of the older believers. Who else could get a bunch of kids on a Saturday to go do a lot of yard work and enjoy it?
We all have so much to be thankful for.
God bless you all for your hard work.
Your sister in Christ.