Duffy

In 1985 we moved into a big house on Parkdale Ave in Chattanooga.  We had good neighbors who moved to Florida and sold their home to a couple who also turned out to be good neighbors.  The first thing that Mr. and Mrs. S. did was to take down the chain link fence from around the yard.  The next thing that they did was to get a big Airedale dog.  Rather odd, I thought.  Mr. and Mrs. S. would come outside and sit on their spacious porch and let the dog run free.  But they had to constantly call out, “Duffy, come back here.”  Duffy obediently came back.  Over the months, the dog grew to know where his boundaries were.  When Mr. and Mrs. S. were outside on the porch, the dog never went out of the yard.  Then I noticed that Mrs. S. would open the door and let Duffy out to roam.  Now Duffy was on his own, but now Duffy was trained.  He never went out into the street or out of the yard.  Not once!  Duffy was trained and Duffy was trustworthy.  When kids rode by on their bikes, Duffy watched them, but Duffy stayed in his yard.  When joggers ran by, Duffy ran too, but inside his yard.  When the UPS truck drove by, Duffy barked and paced back and forth, but Duffy stayed in his yard.  Solomon said in Pro 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  We do our children a great disservice when we don’t train them to do the right things when they are young.  We can prepare them for lives of order and discipline if we begin training them early.  Hey, there is a difference between training (which comes early) and teaching (which comes later).  But the training has to come first.  I’m glad that I had a tough mother and a stern father.  They saved me from many heartaches.  I hope you are a tough mother.  I hope you are a stern father.  It will help your children more than you can ever know.  Hey, train your children while you can.  Give them good boundaries, just like Duffy.