The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-02-28

a America. We live in an average home, with an average income, and two childreh (perhaps a little above the averageD My husband has to be at the office at 8 o'clock. have to get his breakfast and get the child ren off to school. Then there's all the housework and the meals the children coming home from school and Dad from the office. By the time the children were in bed we used to have no energy left for the friends who dropped in for evening, when what I really wanted to do was to read book or go to the movies.
 This sounds dull and perhaps it was, but we passed as a very happy family.
 And then God DID become boss in our home. We began to compare our lives, not with the neighbors, but with the standards of Christ -absol- ute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love.
 ApOlOgizes to Husband
 Outwardly we were still the same average home, average income, av- craze children--and yet how differ ent. John still leaves early for the office but that's not the first ad- venture of the day. We believe God has plan for the average American home, so we spend time first thing in the morning, listening to Him. One morning He told me to apolo- gize to my husband for losing my temper. I had often been ashamed of my stubbornness-rnost of us are, but l always had been terribly afraid to apologize, having gone on the assumption that if I didn't as- sert myself and get my own way, my husband and the children would take advantage of me and get theirs. But to my surprise when l took down my defenses, he took donw his, and there began between us new era of open cooperation instead or secret competition.
 One change was that the children became different when we became different. Billy's nervous twitch, (which the doctor said might be per- 1nanent, has disappeared. I had wanted them to be model children, first so that the neighbors would look on me as a model mother, and secondly because they were less trouble that way. But now that l have stopped imposing my will on them, they are free to be the sort of children God wants them to be.
 Ore day they were quarreling over who should wear a certain fruit basket as a helmet. Both were dc..,,.-- mined to get their own way. As we sat down to listen to God, the air bristled with antagonism. After a moment, two friendly faces looked up at me. God says Billy's to have the hat" said Susan. Ladies first, is what I thought of," said Billy. So the rest of the morning was spent happily taking turns wlth the treas ured fruit basket. It reminded me of the l0-year-old son of friend of mine, who said, If you want to stop war in the world, stop war in the home"
 World decisions sprang from million breakfast tables. It is still miracle to me how much more time we have over ours. Instead of the old hectic rush we have time to en- joy each other and the children. The breakfast table is becoming council table for the family, the school and the office, and we are already seeing the results.
 Everyone has noticed the new spirit in the office. John was pro- noted by his chief, who told him he was able to do it because he had learned to get on with people. Five others in the office are trying MIRA which means five other breakfast tables different.
 Honesty ip School Life Billy is bringing new honesty into his schol life. For instance, one day he apologized for wrongfully ac- cusing a boy of taking someone elses paper. The mother, a school official, felt that this spirit of hon. est apology must be incorporated in all family life, and asked me to CO., perate in bringing such 8 spirit to the homes of the other children. We used to pass as very happy family but that is not enough. Now we have found real happiness which we can pass on to other families. In this way our home can become a pattern of what the home life of America must be if we are to lead the way to sanity and peace. A z