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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for November 25, 2009
“Do You Think You Will Cry?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Do you think you will cry?”
That’s what I keep hearing as we prepare for our firstborn’s wedding, which is this Saturday.
She is the daughter of a radio man, and when she was tiny I used to get up at 4 a.m. to do the morning show. And she got into this weird habit.
I would be sitting at the breakfast table in our little apartment, and here she would come, out of the crib, in her little footed pajamas. I would hear the plastic feet padding down the hallway into the kitchen, and she would climb up on a chair and join me for breakfast.
Before she ever started school she was on the radio, plus I would use her voice for special projects, such as this one I made for her mom. I had the tape recorder rolling, and her tiny little voice was all primed to say, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!” She practiced it a few times and we were all ready to go in 3…2…1…
And then, with a sly twinkle in her eye she said, “Happy Birthday Mom!” And she squealed with laughter at having pulled a fast one on her old dad.
We took her to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and read her bedtime stories and said prayers every night.
Then one day I was at a prayer meeting with some other men at church, and out of the blue this question popped into my mind. “Are you going to send your children to the lion’s den?”
My daughter wasn’t old enough to go to school yet, but in my heart I knew what that question was about. So we checked it out, and ended up sending her (and all of our children) to a local Christian school.
There she memorized scripture and sang Christian songs and made Christian friends. And we enjoyed what some call the golden years, from when your child is about 5 to about 13.
Then some of her friends went to the public high school. We kept her in the fledgling high school program at the Christian school, but she didn’t like it. The summer before her sophomore year she was really chomping at the bit.
This is where things start to get sticky for parents. At some point, kids have to begin making their own decisions, but what is that point? And which decisions?
I prayed and prayed about it, and then I went for a long walk with my daughter. And I finally said, “I want you to stay in the Christian school for your sophomore year. Then you can decide.” And I stressed the importance of seeking the Lord and seeking wisdom before she made that decision.
Well she chose the public school, and all the usual temptations were there waiting for her.
Oh, she was still a pretty good girl. She worked three jobs to pay for her own car. She stayed in church and never rebelled against us or turned our home into a pit of misery, nothing like that. But she certainly stepped over some boundaries and did things unpleasing to God and her parents.
It’s one of the greatest challenges of parenting. How far do you let your 17-year-old go in making their own decisions? We talked about it often, and prayed a lot. And sometimes it’s just anguish as you let out the rope and see what they do with it.
And sometimes you have to step in and lay down the law. But at that age, if you don’t do it with love and wisdom, you might just push them away. It’s a minefield, and you have to walk through it circumspectly.
I remember one night when her mom was out of town, and I was painting our laundry room as a surprise. And my daughter was helping me.
Well she wanted to go do something and I told her no. And she tried a couple of different angles and I finally just cracked down hard. Absolutely not.
So she left to go to work, and there I sat, alone in the middle of the basement floor. I started praying and crying out to God, interceding for my daughter.
Meanwhile, I was listening to some new singles that were sent to the radio station. And right then a song by Kathryn Scott came on, “At the Foot of the Cross.”
And during the song my heart finally broke for my daughter. And I wept alone on that cold basement floor.
Well she went away to college, and we figured she was doing things she shouldn’t be doing. But, amazingly, she called almost every day. She had no idea how thrilled I was when she would call while walking to class, just to tell me how cold it was up there.
And then I believe God opened the door and led me to take the job in Tallahassee. When we decided to make the move, the first person I called was our daughter. We wanted her to know as soon as possible so she could decide whether to stay in Illinois or move with us.
And she started crying. And she immediately said she was coming with us.
Later on she told us the story. She knew that moving to Tallahassee was her chance to start fresh, to repent and create a new life.
And that’s what she did. She surrendered her life to the Lord, caught fire spiritually, and got deeply involved in church.
And there she met a fine young man who is also on fire for Jesus. And now they are getting married Saturday.
And you want to know if I’m going to cry…
(close with old tape of “Happy Birthday Mom...Happy Mother’s Day!”)
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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