Growing up in Eastern North Carolina there were a few things that were guaranteed to be a part of your life as a child. At the moment I’ll focus on two of them.

The first is going to church. Basically, every child that that was part of that era knew that during the weekend: Saturday was playtime and Sunday was church. I believe church was the beginning of structural discipline for us. For instance, you get up in the morning and prepare for church by getting dressed, getting your hair combed from front to back and getting that vaseline or some other kind of grease rubbed all over your face. That was the normal routine.

After we got to church and sat down, there was no talking, no playing, and no chewing gum. We were told to sit down and pay attention. In the seating arrangement there were my three brothers and I sitting on the same row with Mamma on the end for behavior control. Going to church wasn’t always exciting for us, but it was a way of life. Since everybody went to church, all of our friends were there too. That made things much easier because there were other kids there that we could relate to. It wasn’t all bad because some Sundays there was food served after church. We could hardly wait on that fried chicken and chocolate cake. Thinking about that really brings back memories.

Now that I am older, I realize that going to church really kept us focused and put us in our first organized setting. We were taught things like respecting your parents, elders, and teachers. We were taught to honor our parents, as well as how to love and respect each other. If you grew up in a good old fashion, wholesome church you were definitely inspired to go in the right direction.

Proverb 22: 6

“Train up a child in the way that he (she) should go and when he (she) is old he (she) will not depart from it.”

That doesn’t mean life will not take you on a detour. It means, somewhere along the way, you will remember because of what was taught to you at an early age and it just might steer you in the right direction. I am thankful for the knowledge that was instilled in me. It has really help me get through many things in my life. So even though I had to go to Vacation Bible School when other’s didn’t, even though I spent many Wednesday nights in Bible Study, and even though Sunday was church day, I realize it was all for my good.