Placing Back Where They Belong

If there’s one thing that I have greatly realized with Pio’s presence in my life is to appreciate more how we have been raised. We may not spend everyday together just like before but at least, every weekend, I try to not miss an opportunity to teach him new things from his own ways.

Yesterday, he felt excited with the idea of cleaning things with an old toothbrush. He watched me scrub the huge rock for our turtles’ basking area and after a few minutes, he was already scrubbing his own toys with the toothbrush. To reach the sink, he took a small stool to step on which he got from the terrace. After he was done with his seemingly interesting activity, he left all his things in the bathroom. 

Our lesson 101? Place back all the things you used where you took them. I told him to place back the small stool back in the terrace and the old toothbrush under the sink so that no one will mistakenly use it. At first, he questioned why he should do it and eventually pretended that he did not hear me. I told him that it is part of growing up well. 

That if he takes something from a certain place, he should return it back to that very same place – that’s called organization. That if he borrows something from another person, he should return it in its best condition still – that’s called accountability. That if he uses the help of someone or the benefit of something, he should not leave it ‘just like that’ after he has benefited already from it – that’s called gratefulness. 

And for us adults, I saw how this should greatly affect our relationships and spiritual lives. Whenever God’s glory is shared to us, we should not be so irresponsible to just leave and drop it or claim everything to ourselves once we feel fulfilled, praised and exuberant inside. We should be responsible enough to bring back all the glory to Him as the Creator of all things, including our own mere selves.