A Parable

Brother Brown was sad; his wife had passed away several months ago and his home was in disarray. His lively, creative children were looking more unkempt as the days went by; the house just got dirtier. He did what he could in the evenings and on the weekends but things were just not as wonderful as when his wife was alive. So he looked around for another woman to help him. He found a school teacher, a delightful woman who loved children and homemaking; so he courted her and then married her.

The new Sister Brown enjoyed getting to know the children and after a little while began making chore assignments to all the children. Unfortunately nothing would get done, and the children came up with all kinds of excuses as to why the chores were not done. Sister Brown continued assigning chores and taking care of the grocery shopping and cooking. She was puzzled as to why the children wouldn't do their assigned chores so she talked to Brother Brown about it. They discussed the adjustments of having a new mother and he assured her that if she would just love the children they would eventually step up and do the chores. Sister Brown thought she had been loving, but redoubled her efforts and tried to be patient.

One day Sister Brown decided to get to the bottom of why the chores weren't getting done and she sat down with the youngest and after a pleasant conversation she broached the subject of chores. The youngster confessed that he really didn't know how to make his bed or clean his room because his real mom had always done it for him. Sister Brown made time for interviews with the rest of the children and found to her relief that the children weren't being rebellious about not doing the chores, they just didn't know how to do them and they didn't understand the benefits to the family if they did them.

Sister Brown began a training program immediately and helped each child learn the basics of bed making and clothes putting away, and then moved through all of the household chores. Once everyone knew he proper techniques and how to use the tools for each task the household began to run smoothly and feelings of love and unity increased in their home.

Many years later, when the children had homes of their own they were so grateful to their step-mother for showing her love by taking the time to teach them skills that would serve them all their lives.