Dear Children,
Some boys and girls, and grown-ups too, have asked us what we are training Wesley to do now. For anyone who may not know, Wesley is our Dalmatian dog that we’ve had for about a year. We started training him when he was six months old. Right now we are training him to bring the newspaper to Gramma. The newspaper is delivered down at the end of our loooong driveway, and neither Gramma nor I like to walk all the way down there in the rain or snow to pick it up and bring it to the house. So we are training Wesley to be our helper.
You will notice that I use the word “training.” It means to understand, or it can mean to learn a certain way to do things. Now, when a person joins the army, there are instructors who train the soldiers what they must do, so that there is no confusion. And in a family, the father and mother train their children. You see, boys and girls, the Bible, God’s Word, tells us about training children. Proverbs 22:66Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) tells parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” And so the things that you learn from the Word of God in your early years you will never forget! Gramma and I had three children, and we taught them when they were very young that Jesus loved them and died for them and how to live to please Him. And then we all went to Sunday school together so they could learn and understand more about Jesus and His wonderful love.
Now, when you train a pet when it is still quite young, it will learn quickly and not forget. Wesley is sixteen months old, and he has not forgotten what he has already been trained to do. So now we are training him to pick up the newspaper and bring it to Gramma.
Wesley sits with Gramma on a chair, looking out the window and watching me as I walk down the driveway and pick up the paper. When he sees me start back to the house, he leaps off the chair, Gramma opens the door, and he races down the driveway to pick up the paper that I throw to him. He picks it up and proudly carries it in his mouth back up the driveway, up the steps and into Gramma’s outstretched hand. He is so happy, and his tail is wagging like crazy. Gramma gives him a big hug and sometimes a little treat.
“Grampa, how long did it take Wesley to learn what you wanted him to do?”
You know, it only took Wesley three times to understand what he was to do. On the fourth time, he carried out his instructions perfectly! You may ask, “Do you give Wesley a lot of treats?” No. He loves being obedient, and we tell him, “Good boy, good boy.” Friends who come to visit us ask if they can watch Wesley carry the newspaper to Gramma, and Wesley loves to show how it’s done. Some people have said that Wesley obeys better than some children they know!
In the Bible we read, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:11Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (Ephesians 6:1)). Boys and girls, do you obey your parents? Are you happy to be a helper for Mom and Dad? That not only makes them happy, it makes the Lord Jesus happy too.
Lots of love,
Grampa and Gramma