I’m about four years old. My sister, Christy is about six. My dad is feeding us a line of bull. I am sure some of you have heard this one before; “This hurts me more than it does you.” You guessed it. We were about to get a spanking when my dad had the bright idea that he would break new ground in the parenting area by using a life-changing example. It was life changing all right.
My dad takes my sister and me into the bathroom. He brings along with him something that we called the Fanny Wacker. The Fanny Wacker was a thin 1/8 inch thick piece of plywood cut into the shape of a paddle. On it in large green letters were the words “Fanny Wacker.” This tool of abuse would be used many times in the near future on my butt. It was only discarded years later after being broken, likely on me. We attempted to hide it on several occasions. Of course my mother would use whatever she could get her hands on – sticks, bats, poles, guitars, pool sticks. That’s a joke. Though, I have seen it in her eyes on occasion. Once she did hit a pole in the basement with a guitar once. May have been the same day she destroyed my sisters little play piano. Needless to say, I did whatever she wanted that day. Back to the bathroom! My dad has me and my sister and the Fanny Wacker with us in the bathroom. He is preparing to teach us about why he disciplines us.
Now, I am standing there, even at the age of four, probably thinking that this is useless. I don’t remember. But knowing me, I am sure I had this whole thing figured out. My sister is another story. Just the mention of a spanking or words of disapproval would send her into emotional explosion. She wasn’t the most stable kid growing up. She would fall to pieces. I’m standing there just hoping to get this thing over with quickly so I can get back to work on some other form of terror or plan to make someone miserable. There were houses to burn down, people to hit, and things to steal for the love of God. Let’s get this show on the road. Daddy started in about how much he hated to whip us, which I couldn’t understand for the life of me. Hitting people was the highlight of my day. I should have just told him, “If you hate it so bad, hand the paddle to me. I can do it with no remorse at all. He’s being nice and gentle because Christy by now is whaling. She probably started crying when daddy called her name.
Daddy said, “I am going to prove to you that it hurts daddy when he paddles you.” This crazy man picks up the Fanny Wacker and hands it to my sister first. He said, “I am going to let you whip daddy so you’ll understand.” Now I don’t know if this is good parenting or not. But, I do know that this was possibly one of the stupidest things my dad ever did. My sister, of course, falls to pieces. I on the other hand have had a drastic change of heart. Instead of wanting to be somewhere else at that moment, I was suddenly inspired to rise to the occasion. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that Fanny Wacker. I had some issues of my own to settle with daddy. Christy kept saying that she couldn’t do it. I don’t remember, but I am sure my dad said something like, “See I told you it hurt daddy more.” I also sure that my brainwashed, easy to convince sister bought the propaganda. She probably shook her head and said, in tears, “I can’t do it.” I was thinking, “Give that sucker to me. I’ll show you who it hurts more.”
The moment I had been waiting for came. I believe I heard background music, something like they play in a Star Wars movie. Daddy probably gave out some words of wisdom or some kind of crap. I don’t know. I was listening. I had my gaze set on that piece of plywood that I was about to turn into a weapon. He gave it to me. I felt a sense of power and authority. I was bigger than life. He knelt down by the tub, a mistake of cataclysmic proportion. I gripped that Butt Crusher, renamed for the moment. It’s kind of like President Bush’s plane. While he’s not on it, it’s just a plane. When he steps aboard, it becomes Air Force One. I grabbed the Butt Crusher, which it was only called for about 30 seconds, but 30 seconds of extreme glory. I turned it sideways so that the edge could take out pieces of flesh. Then, I let it rain. With each successful blow came the scream of agony for which I was looking. With it held sideways in my hand, I beat the crap out of his butt, his spine, and his head. In a brief reign of terror, I dealt my fury. He began to crawl into the tub and yell for my mom. I was able to do some damage before she rushed in and disarmed me.
It hurts me worse, ha! Ask my dad who it hurt worse that day. It sure wasn’t me. As a matter of fact, I felt great. The coolest part was that I couldn’t get in trouble. He asked me to do it. Those kinds of moments don’t come along often in life. You have cease them.
Honestly, today is the first time I have thought deeply about what my dad was doing. There are two distinct things. One, he was showing me how much he hated to whip his kids. Two, he was taking my and my sisters place. He chose to receive what I am certain I deserved.
God doesn’t take pleasure in seeing us hurt. He is growing us. God does two things to grow us. They are separate actions. He disciplines us and He prunes us. When we make mistakes, He disciplines us so that our lives are fashioned to follow Him. He will not let us continue in error. You may walk in error a while. But, He will bring it to an end by disciplining you. He also prunes us. Sometime He sees things in us that He wants to remove. They could even be things that aren’t bad. But, God sees how it is taking us away from Him. He will step in and take those things out. We can’t grow if there are excess branches and leaves. He cuts us back. Both of these things are to bring glory to Himself and joy into our lives. It doesn’t always seem that way though. Like my dad, God doesn’t enjoy whipping us or removing things from us. He simply sees the necessity to make us what He desires. This is often a very painful process.
The second thing I have learned from what my dad did that day is that he took our place. This one is obvious but often forgotten. My dad humbled himself and got on his knees that day to take my whipping. God sent his Son in humility to live as I do yet without sin. He gave up His life. He did this so that I would know how much He loved me. He did this so that I would know that He isn’t out to hurt me. He came to rescue me.
Thank God I have been rescued, get rescued daily, and will be rescued forever. I am safe in His hands. That is why when hardships or pain hit me I can trust that He is in it. He is shaping me into a beautiful mosaic. If you have ever seen a mosaic you’ll know what I am saying. When you look at a mosaic up close you see a bunch of pieces. Some of them are pretty. Some of them are ugly. When you step back you see a beautiful whole picture. God has put some ugly pieces into my life. He has also put some beautiful pieces in there. If I look at them one at a time, I could get real happy or real depressed depending upon at which one I am looking. God sees this beautiful masterpiece that He has created. He sees it all at the same time.
I am convinced that one day I will be finished on this earth. I will have lived all that I am going to live. On this day, God is going to let me have this mosaic that he created out of my life. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what is hung on the mantle above my fireplace in my mansion. I know it will be amazing because it will be His handiwork. And I’ve seen His handiwork; I’ve never been disappointed.
I love you, your servant, your friend,
Tim
My dad takes my sister and me into the bathroom. He brings along with him something that we called the Fanny Wacker. The Fanny Wacker was a thin 1/8 inch thick piece of plywood cut into the shape of a paddle. On it in large green letters were the words “Fanny Wacker.” This tool of abuse would be used many times in the near future on my butt. It was only discarded years later after being broken, likely on me. We attempted to hide it on several occasions. Of course my mother would use whatever she could get her hands on – sticks, bats, poles, guitars, pool sticks. That’s a joke. Though, I have seen it in her eyes on occasion. Once she did hit a pole in the basement with a guitar once. May have been the same day she destroyed my sisters little play piano. Needless to say, I did whatever she wanted that day. Back to the bathroom! My dad has me and my sister and the Fanny Wacker with us in the bathroom. He is preparing to teach us about why he disciplines us.
Now, I am standing there, even at the age of four, probably thinking that this is useless. I don’t remember. But knowing me, I am sure I had this whole thing figured out. My sister is another story. Just the mention of a spanking or words of disapproval would send her into emotional explosion. She wasn’t the most stable kid growing up. She would fall to pieces. I’m standing there just hoping to get this thing over with quickly so I can get back to work on some other form of terror or plan to make someone miserable. There were houses to burn down, people to hit, and things to steal for the love of God. Let’s get this show on the road. Daddy started in about how much he hated to whip us, which I couldn’t understand for the life of me. Hitting people was the highlight of my day. I should have just told him, “If you hate it so bad, hand the paddle to me. I can do it with no remorse at all. He’s being nice and gentle because Christy by now is whaling. She probably started crying when daddy called her name.
Daddy said, “I am going to prove to you that it hurts daddy when he paddles you.” This crazy man picks up the Fanny Wacker and hands it to my sister first. He said, “I am going to let you whip daddy so you’ll understand.” Now I don’t know if this is good parenting or not. But, I do know that this was possibly one of the stupidest things my dad ever did. My sister, of course, falls to pieces. I on the other hand have had a drastic change of heart. Instead of wanting to be somewhere else at that moment, I was suddenly inspired to rise to the occasion. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that Fanny Wacker. I had some issues of my own to settle with daddy. Christy kept saying that she couldn’t do it. I don’t remember, but I am sure my dad said something like, “See I told you it hurt daddy more.” I also sure that my brainwashed, easy to convince sister bought the propaganda. She probably shook her head and said, in tears, “I can’t do it.” I was thinking, “Give that sucker to me. I’ll show you who it hurts more.”
The moment I had been waiting for came. I believe I heard background music, something like they play in a Star Wars movie. Daddy probably gave out some words of wisdom or some kind of crap. I don’t know. I was listening. I had my gaze set on that piece of plywood that I was about to turn into a weapon. He gave it to me. I felt a sense of power and authority. I was bigger than life. He knelt down by the tub, a mistake of cataclysmic proportion. I gripped that Butt Crusher, renamed for the moment. It’s kind of like President Bush’s plane. While he’s not on it, it’s just a plane. When he steps aboard, it becomes Air Force One. I grabbed the Butt Crusher, which it was only called for about 30 seconds, but 30 seconds of extreme glory. I turned it sideways so that the edge could take out pieces of flesh. Then, I let it rain. With each successful blow came the scream of agony for which I was looking. With it held sideways in my hand, I beat the crap out of his butt, his spine, and his head. In a brief reign of terror, I dealt my fury. He began to crawl into the tub and yell for my mom. I was able to do some damage before she rushed in and disarmed me.
It hurts me worse, ha! Ask my dad who it hurt worse that day. It sure wasn’t me. As a matter of fact, I felt great. The coolest part was that I couldn’t get in trouble. He asked me to do it. Those kinds of moments don’t come along often in life. You have cease them.
Honestly, today is the first time I have thought deeply about what my dad was doing. There are two distinct things. One, he was showing me how much he hated to whip his kids. Two, he was taking my and my sisters place. He chose to receive what I am certain I deserved.
God doesn’t take pleasure in seeing us hurt. He is growing us. God does two things to grow us. They are separate actions. He disciplines us and He prunes us. When we make mistakes, He disciplines us so that our lives are fashioned to follow Him. He will not let us continue in error. You may walk in error a while. But, He will bring it to an end by disciplining you. He also prunes us. Sometime He sees things in us that He wants to remove. They could even be things that aren’t bad. But, God sees how it is taking us away from Him. He will step in and take those things out. We can’t grow if there are excess branches and leaves. He cuts us back. Both of these things are to bring glory to Himself and joy into our lives. It doesn’t always seem that way though. Like my dad, God doesn’t enjoy whipping us or removing things from us. He simply sees the necessity to make us what He desires. This is often a very painful process.
The second thing I have learned from what my dad did that day is that he took our place. This one is obvious but often forgotten. My dad humbled himself and got on his knees that day to take my whipping. God sent his Son in humility to live as I do yet without sin. He gave up His life. He did this so that I would know how much He loved me. He did this so that I would know that He isn’t out to hurt me. He came to rescue me.
Thank God I have been rescued, get rescued daily, and will be rescued forever. I am safe in His hands. That is why when hardships or pain hit me I can trust that He is in it. He is shaping me into a beautiful mosaic. If you have ever seen a mosaic you’ll know what I am saying. When you look at a mosaic up close you see a bunch of pieces. Some of them are pretty. Some of them are ugly. When you step back you see a beautiful whole picture. God has put some ugly pieces into my life. He has also put some beautiful pieces in there. If I look at them one at a time, I could get real happy or real depressed depending upon at which one I am looking. God sees this beautiful masterpiece that He has created. He sees it all at the same time.
I am convinced that one day I will be finished on this earth. I will have lived all that I am going to live. On this day, God is going to let me have this mosaic that he created out of my life. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what is hung on the mantle above my fireplace in my mansion. I know it will be amazing because it will be His handiwork. And I’ve seen His handiwork; I’ve never been disappointed.
I love you, your servant, your friend,
Tim
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