Quabanga and Her Big Grumpy Daddy!

Quabanga was a smart and pretty almost ten year old girl that loved Jesus and usually tried to do what was correct. She enjoyed all the things any normal almost ten year old would usually enjoy like playing with friends, going to church, reading, learning, and being with her family. Quabanga lived in an apartment with her mommy, daddy, her newborn baby brother and a fuzzy gray stray cat named Ro Ro. Today, everyone except Ro Ro, who was running around the neighborhood as usual, was leaving for a trip to Quabanga's grandparent's house. It was the kind of place where she could always count on having a good time... and that she did. Soon after arriving, Quabanga began to realize that almost everyone else in the house, including her uncle Otty, was in the main living room having a load of fun without her. She could hear the giggling. So, being like any other inquisitive girl her age, she quickly skipped along from the back room that she was alone in and toward the main living room. All of a sudden there was a booming, "STOP", and with the sharp point of a finger and the crackle of a harsh finger snap followed by the return of that dreaded pointed finger, Quabanga was ordered to, "Go Back!" She stopped in her tracks and she immediately went back where she had come from.

"Oh no", she thought to herself. What have I done to make my father so angry with me? Quickly, her mind began to add up all her recent failures. Like many soon to be teenagers, Quabanga had been having a hard time feeling good about herself. More and more she could see herself being clumsy or making goofy mistakes that made her feel like she might not be all that good of a person. She just knew that she must have made a really really really bad mistake this time. Though her father had already told her that a bit of goofiness is normal for preteens and teens, tears began to build up in her eyes because she was confused about what she had done so wrong. In some ways, she even thought that her family might not want her around because they were all in there having fun and she was the only one not welcomed to be there. As she returned to the back room, she could hear her uncle Otty calling out to her but, whatever it was he had to say, it would have to wait. It was a well known fact that when her daddy turned on his Marine Corps Drill Instructor Voice and gave an order, it was to be followed exactly and quickly or else there'd be suffering.

Quabanga also knew some other very important things about her father. He was a smart and jolly man that was fun to play with and loved to turn lessons into games and silly made up songs. He sang these songs often and never seemed to run out of new things to teach about or new ways to prove a point about what he'd taught before. To tell the truth, even though it was great to ask him questions of all kinds, he would sometimes seem to just be blabbering on about things that didn't really matter. Still, she'd listen and even try to remember. She also knew him as a mean man that was terrible to make angry. His words were like fire. His orders were strict and there were no amount of tears that could ever cause him to have even one ounce of compassion once he had given the order to do pushups. Normally, she got along with her father quite well and she liked him a lot. He would encourage her and help her to not give up and to see what she could really do if she tried. He was often keen to try and help her to think and understand things better but, sometimes, it was him that she couldn't understand. This was really one of those times. Nevertheless, she remembered what her father always told her, "Follow Your Orders", and she did just that.

It only took about two minutes for her father to call Quabanga back to where he had just banished her from. Oddly enough, his first statement to her was, "Good girl for following your orders and doing what I told you immediately!" She was expecting something far different... like a lecture. He followed with, "The reason I had spoken so harshly to you was not because you had done something wrong. It was to keep you safe. What you could not see was that at the very same moment that you had burst into the room, your uncle Otty had just unfolded his new knife to show to everyone. Where you were running in from, it was pointing directly at your head. I did not mean to make you cry but I spoke to you in the proper voice to instantly get your attention and cause you to do what was right to keep you safe because I love you." Now, Quabanga got to hear his Big Mean Marine Voice the way she liked it. It was full of compassion and kindness no matter how big it was. There was nothing she had done wrong and she knew her daddy LOVED her! Later, they spoke more on the matter and Quabanga was better able to understand the importance of paying attention and obedience. Eventually, she understood more about how her daddy's love was a lot like God's love for her. She understood more about how listening to God and letting Jesus help her lead a righteous life would lead to more life and how any sin, even a little one, like even a small amount of disobedience, will eventually lead to death.

So, Quabanga enjoyed the rest of her special day and felt better about herself because she knew her father loved her and he had reassured her that she wasn't wrong or goofy. She was righteous and right and safe in his care.