[This article is not original with me and has been around for a while, but it is certainly “bulletin-worthy.” I do not know who wrote this “letter,” but online and in church bulletins over the years, I have seen many variations of it. While children will not appreciate some of the things stated, may this encourage all parents to continue striving daily to “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).]
“I had the meanest parents in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast. When other kids had cokes and Twinkies for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich.
“My parents insisted on knowing where I was all the time. I felt like I was on a chain gang. They had to know who my friends were and what I was doing. They insisted that if I would be gone for an hour, that I be gone for an hour or less. Of all things, I had to have a curfew.
“I’m ashamed to admit it, but they actually had the nerve to break the child labor law. They made me work. I had to help them do chores in the house and outside in the yard. You know, things like make my bed, wash the dishes and mow the lawn — all sorts of odd things. I think they’d actually lie awake nights thinking of mean things to do to me.
“And when I became a teenager, it got worse. They’d make me bring my friends and dates to the door so they could meet them. Humiliating! My friends were lucky. They got to date at the mature age of 13 and 14, but my old-fashioned parents refused to let me date until I was 16.
“I could not understand why we were always at the church building. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and other days here and there, our old car could probably drive on autopilot to that old church building. My parents would not let me do anything else when there was something at the church! My friends could go and do whatever they wanted, but not me. Even my sports had to fit around church activities. It was so embarrassing at the time.
“My mom and dad were complete failures as parents. I was never arrested, never got into fights, never talked back to a teacher, never got kicked out of school. I got along with everybody. And who do I have to thank for this terrible way I turned out? My ‘mean’ parents. They made me grow into a God-fearing, educated, hard-working, servant-hearted, honest adult.
“Thank you, Lord, for giving me the ‘meanest’ parents on earth. They saved me much heartache and pain. They saved my life and set me on a course toward heaven.”