My mother was an excellent cook. She taught all of
her children the culinary arts as she knew back then. During those times, some
folks had the opinion that only girls should be taught how to cook. Not my
mother. She was a forward thinker and as a result, my brothers profited from her
wisdom.
Since there were five girls, we were allowed to take
turns each Sunday to prepare meals for the family. One of us would prepare
breakfast, the other lunch, and so on. There was a rule that only the person who
is preparing meals for that particular time should be in the kitchen. This is
to prevent arguments. In spite of this rule, there is always someone who wants
to have their own way which can create problems.
One Sunday morning, it was my turn to prepare
breakfast. I was ten years old. I was
making a roast bake ( a flatbread). One of my older sisters (they're all older
than me anyway, since I'm the youngest child), came into the kitchen. She
should not have been there. I was flattening the dough to place it in the pot,
but instead, she put something else in there. When I turned and saw what was in
the pot, I took it out and told her to get out of the kitchen. She insisted on
annoying me by placing the object back in the pot. That's when I punched her on
the nose which started to bleed. Dearest mother was called and I was
reprimanded all because her nose bled. I was upset and did not speak to her for
that week.
As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we welcome the
Sabbath each Friday evening by worshipping and giving thanks to God. We praise our Creator God, read the bible, and pray. We believe the Sabbath is 24 hours from sunset Friday evening to sunset Saturday evening.
On this occasion, it was our custom before we started singing and giving
thanks, to ask forgiveness of each other for anything that we have done to one
another. During the week my mother did not know that this particular sister and
I were not speaking to each other. Well, I know I was not speaking to her, I
did not know if she wanted to speak to me and at that time, I didn't really
care. My oldest sister, knowing the situation, spoke up at the time of worship.
Mother was not pleased. She did not want us to have any conflict in the home, especially going so far as not speaking to each other as sisters. She then told
me to ask my sister for forgiveness. Now I was not pleased.
There is a disadvantage in being the youngest. You
are told by everyone else what you should do. You are picked on constantly. You
are called "the baby" and even though you are in the right you are
still wrong. I was already reprimanded for punching my sister on the nose,
which I thought she deserved, for not staying out of the kitchen. But because
there was spilled blood, I should ask her to forgive me. I'm thinking that this
is not right, so I said nothing. Mother was not the kind of parent to argue
with her children. No, No. She was the one in charge. She once again told me to
ask for forgiveness from this sister. That's all she was saying, nothing else. I said, "If I should ask for forgiveness
but did not mean it in my heart, what then." My mother once again repeated the statement. I
was adamant. Here I am, the youngest, holding up worship. We could not start
until all wrongs were made right. Finally, I gave in and in a small voice ask
for forgiveness. My sister, with a smirk on her face, said "I forgive
you." Somehow after she said that, I wanted to punch her again but I did
not. When the singing started, it was a joyous occasion and all was peace and
happiness once again. Music does that, you know.
Sometimes discord may arise in families and if we
have the right approach it will stay in hand. We are all different, even
though we may be brothers and sisters. Each of us has our own personality but
when we come together, supporting one another, we realize that when all else
fails, your family is always there for you, because life is like that.
