B-o-r-r-r-r-r-i-n-g! It’s amazing the frequency with which kids utter the word “boring” these days. When I was a child, my mother took such complaints as an invitation to have me mow the lawn, weed her yard, or—horrors!—tidy my room.
“If you’re bored, Guy Hawtin,” she would say, “I’ve got just the cure for you.” There was no arguing with mother. Once she had an idea in her head there was no shifting it. It’s quite amazing how much work she got out of us before we wised up and quit complaining about having nothing to do.
Charlotte took a slightly different tack. When one of our children complained of boredom, she would reply: “It’s time for bed, then. Bored children are obviously short on sleep.” It’s amazing how swiftly a nap in the middle of the day cured boredom.
The all–time prize for curing boredom, however, must go to an enterprising father whose son constantly complained that most church hymns were boring—too far behind the times, tiresome tunes, and meaningless words. His dad put an end to the discussion by saying: “If you think you can write better hymns, then why don’t you?”
The boy promptly went to his room and wrote his first hymn. The year was 1690. The teenager was Isaac Watts. “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World” are among almost 350 hymns written by him. Bored? Let the world remember you for 300 years! GPH✠
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