Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee – Exodus 20:12 (KJV)
We should all make a conscious decision to celebrate parents because parenting is not an easy assignment. With the help of God however, parents can partner and lead their families with distinction. I reflect on the lives of my parents Mr & Mrs Alves because to me they are excellent parents and role models who impacted many lives during their fifty one years of marriage, before my father died.
They were married at ages fifteen (mom) and twenty one (dad). This union produced seven children: three boys and four girls. My father worked with the bauxite company, initially as a dragline operator and retired as a manager. My mother was a talented homemaker who used her hands diligently and they were committed to their God given assignment.
My parents did their best to provide for us, which of course was not an easy task since most of my siblings were born just one year apart from each other. So you can imagine a house full of toddlers, all with wide innocent eyes and outstretched arms looking to two young persons for comfort and stability. We needed love and assurance that everything was going to be alright.
In order to be in a good position, to provide that assurance to his family; my father had a kitchen garden, a farm, invested in poultry from time to time, and hunted. So in essence (you can see the big picture), after his eight hour shift at work, he came home, attended to his regular chores then proceeded to sweat, engaging in one or more of the activities mentioned prior, until dusk.
Honour is due to these two simple young people; who when they met each other, only had a sixth standard education, equivalent to a second form education today (Grade 8). They however, had goals and dreams for themselves and family, and educating their children was number one on the agenda. These goals drove them to relocate from Region Ten to Georgetown, the capital city, where we could have better access at that time. Moving proved to be really uncomfortable but very necessary for growth and development.
Today, I would like to celebrate and honour my two heroes. Don’t you think you should do the same?
Read: Ephesians 6:1-3; Deuteronomy 5:16
Bible Reading Guide: Proverbs 4:10-19; Matthew 26:31-46; Exodus 4; Exodus 5; Exodus 6:1-12
