What A Pickle!!

I was in the grocery store last week, when I witnessed something that I had never seen before. Let me start this story at the beginning. I went into my local grocery store that was packed out. After rounding through the produce section this little blur of a person whizzed by my cart. I proceeded to the meat counter where 2 buggies collided to keep from hitting this little boy who is running wild through out the store. Now, this is one of my greatest pet peeves...parents who let children run wild in restaurants or stores. They had rather let them go and take a chance of knocking someone down rather than discipline them. Most would tell me, "You say that because you don't have any children.". While this is true, umm..hello I was a child once. Believe me my mom wouldn't let me run through out the store. She would have spanked me right there in front of God and everyone. Only back then nothing would have been said, because the parents were the grown ups of the house and the decision makers not the children. Okay, getting back to my story. This little boy was a terror, and almost knocked an elderly lady down with a cane. Thank the Lord there was a nice man near by to catch her before she hit the floor. The manager went to the mother and told her to get her son under control. This was her 2nd warning. Then I heard a loud crash. I couldn't see the mess, but I could smell it. PICKLES!!! I rounded the corner a few minutes later and there was the mess...pickle jars broken everywhere. There also stood an angry manager and mother with a now still little boy. The manager was telling her that she would pay for every jar of pickles her son broke. Then she said no because you didn't pay for items you break in a grocery store. Where is that rule posted?? What a great example she was being to her dear little son. I can't quote what she said because it was a string of swear words a mile long. Now the out of control child was getting understood by me. Why expect anything better out of him if this is the way the mother acts. There will come a time when you pay for your child's actions and the lack of your actions. As a pastor and wife, we have heard parents wondering why little Johnny (who is now 19 or 20)is in jail? He wasn't raised that way. Why this is true, you never set out to raise a jail bird. The lack of raising...setting good examples, owning up to mistakes, making children pay the consequences for their mistakes are often to blame. Okay, back to the story. The manager proceeded to tell her that he had asked her 3 times to control her child and she ignored him. 47 jars of pickles were broken @ $3.39 a jar. That is $159.33 for pickles. The situation got so out of hand that the police were called. She would be paying for the pickles and going to jail. At some point she hit the manager. What an up standing testimony she is to her son who looked to be 4 or 5 years old. Now I don't have don't have to worry anymore about children who are rude or unruly...they are mostly a carbon copy of what they see in their parents. Children watch your every movement and every word that you utter. Their behavior mirrors what they see as well as what they are taught. I wanted to applaud the manager for his actions. You can't let children do as they please and feel you don't have to pay when they mess up. That day she paid with money, but will that be all that it will cost her?? How about when he is 16 and she hasn't seen him for 3 days? She will be paying with her very own health. Worrying and stress are slow killers. Children are a reflection of their parents. My first impression of that mother was she doesn't care about other people. She wouldn't be one to lend a helping hand or make a good friend. Are these facts true?? I don't know. That is just my impression from the lack of discipline I saw and her reaction to his behavior. People judge you by your actions and those of your children. Children reflect the personality of their parents. What can people tell about you through your child? I hope that through the way that I act and react people see my parents as loving caring people. I try hard to act and to REACT in a way that is pleasing to God. Reactions are just as important as actions. I have often found myself having to count to ten before I respond to someone...hey, I am human. I hope that lady in the grocery store can later reflect on not just her lack of action, but her reaction. What a bad example to swear and then hit a person who is telling you that you have to pay for your own mistake.