English Lesson

A friend of mine lost her father recently. Another friend of mine lost her mother today. My husband's father was deathly ill just last week....very, very sick....which brought me to this.....Parents are so special. Prophetic, aren't I?

Definitely not a new thought, I know, but a new way of thinking, for me. As a person trained in reporting, I started to note, that there is no greater role than that of a parent. As any good reporter does, I asked myself the 5 W's, and came up with this:

Parents are the WHERE and WHEN of our origination. They are the WHAT of our decision making, and the WHY and the HOW behind our WHO.
To every question they are our answer....what a pivotal role in humanity a parent plays....none is more important.

But, how often do you as a parent give yourself this importance? Not very often....I know. Think for a moment, though, on how many times a day God smiles upon you when He sees His love spilling out of you and onto His...who happen to also be yours?! :) Now, tell me THAT thought doesn't change your view on parents!?!?

Living in the South you hear people say the word 'Proud' an awful lot. And it's used in ways I had never heard while living in the Midwest, like: "I was just so proud to help you." And by people who barely know you, you'll hear, "I can't believe you accomplished that?! I'm so proud!"

At first it makes you feel like, "Um, hello? You had nothing to do with my accomplishment, why would YOU be proud?!?" or "Proud, really? You were Proud to help me? Why? You made me some copies...is that a prideful act?"

As a somewhat cynical Yank, I guess I wondered who had taught the English language to these southern folks and why would a person feel pride in something that had little to do with them? Pride is a boastful word not a word you use to find yourself in others' accomplishments...not when you didn't even do anything, am I right?!

But, as I've come to learn, and come to LOVE about living in the South, pride is more than just a selfish verb giving reference back to only the speaker....it's more of a Faithful verb.....giving accolades to Him, our one true parent.

Finding PRIDE in what the people around you do, is a good thing, a GREAT thing. I'm so proud....I'm so proud you got that award! Why am I proud? Because seeing Him glorify you, makes me so grateful that we share the same father!

Don't let anyone ever say that a Southerner doesn't know how to use the word Proud correctly....I think the rest of us could use a few more lessons in His language, don't you?!