What is the fifth commandment??? Anybody know without looking? We have been studying the Ten Commandments in our bible study class on Wednesday nights. I am guilty of not knowing them all by heart. I have been able to remember the prior one's we've studied each week. So now I'm up to five :p The fifth commandment is to honor thy Father and Mother. Now that sounds all fine and easy right? That's what I thought... WRONG! There is a lot more to this commandment than I realized. I'm not really going to get into it in depth because I know not everyone will agree with my take on this commandment from God, but I do want to take this opportunity to honor my Father and Mother.

My life of 25 years so far has been full of many terrible things. I know that without God in my life I would blame all of the terrible things on my parents. I would be angry and resentful. I would have a terrible relationship with my Mom and Dad as well as my Husband and Children. I know this because before I came to know Jesus that's how I was. I was angry with my Mother most of all. I blamed her for all the hurt I felt. I was angry with my Father for not being there for me when I thought he should have been. I did not honor my parents. I described the horrible things I'd been through to my husband and I blamed my parents and this tainted his view of them. Every time I would talk to my mom or get a letter from her I would end up dredging up all the bad things I'd been through and be crying to my husband about what a terrible life I'd had. It made him angry too. I was spreading my poison.

Then Jesus came into my life and changed all of that. I hate using those phrases because I know it makes people roll their eyes and sigh thinking "oh here we go she's gonna start preachin'," but it's true. I just told you how I was before... It wasn't my own idea to suddenly have a change of heart. God did it. He showed me something that I was unable to see before.

My mom made lots of mistakes. I used to be angry at her for it. Why? She's human just like me. I make mistakes too. It's not like my mom woke up every day thinking, "hmmm what can I do today to make Kristie's life miserable." By me being angry with her it's like I was saying that's what she did every time she made a bad decision. It's ridiculous.

I was driving home from taking Brett to the doctor today and all of this hit me like a ton of bricks. I am so thankful for each and every mistake my parents made. I praise God for every heartache I endured. If things had gone any differently I wouldn't be who I am today. Not only do I get to learn from my mistakes but I get to learn from my parents mistakes. All the times they tried to tell me when I was younger I didn't listen. I thought I knew best, and I could still be traveling that road of denial today if God hadn't shown me the error of my ways. I know people will disagree with me but this is true to my heart. It's always through struggles and trials that we become stronger and develop character. God gave me the parents I have knowing they would fail at times and make mistakes. He made me a parent knowing I would do the same.

I was never able to think of the good things my parents did for me. My mom used to sew Barbie clothes from the scraps of material she had leftover from quilts and other sewing projects. I loved all the clothes I had for my Barbies. My mom used to sew me dresses for church. I was always so proud of my pretty dresses. I was the only girl so I got to go with Mom sometimes just me and her and I always felt so special. Best of all, every time I talk to my Mom either on the phone, on an instant messenger, in a letter or an email she never fails to say I Love You. It's a silly thing you might think, sure it's just three words... But I don't have any doubts that she loves me.

My Dad is one of the hardest workers I know. Sometimes I know this can be a bad thing but he is always working for the ones he loves. He works hard to provide for them and make them happy. He's such a creative guy. It makes me laugh cause he always has a new scheme or plan on how to make extra money. My Dad is a handsome dude! It's really funny because in his office he had a picture of me and him and people used to always say what a nice wife he had :p Now either I look really old or my Dad is just that good lookin' that people thought I was his wife... I'm gonna go with the second one :p My Dad is not a quitter. When he sets his mind to do something I guarantee he'll get it done. He quit drinking, smoking and chewing tobacco in 1992 (I think that's the right year) and he is still free of those things that used to hold him back.

I often mention the faults of my parents in conversations about parenting. I don't do it to belittle my parents but to show what I've learned from their mistakes. Our lesson on the fifth commandment showed me that I need to have a more respectable approach to these types of conversations and guard what I say about my parents in order to honor them. No one wants all of their mistakes drug out for all to see. I'm sorry Mom and Dad for the times I've made you look bad to others. I thank God to have you both as my parents.

PS I won't go into the in law aspect but I'm also going to try harder to show honor to them as well.