I had the privilege to be the maintenance man at East Garden 1974 to 1978 and had this encounter with True Parents in 1976.

I went to Parents bedroom to ask them to select some plumbing fixtures and ceramic tiles for a bathroom we were remodeling. Father and Mother were having lunch together alone.

They finished the selection and Mother started asking about Father's bath room. Father's faucets were old and leaky, water spilled onto the floor when He filled His tub and there was no shower for the tub. The floor, walls, toilet, tub, vanity, etc., were in good condition. Only the faucets needed changing and adding a shower.

Mother and I had nearly finished selecting the faucets when Father started speaking strongly to me.

Don't touch my bath room!
Listen to me!
Don't do what Mother says, do what I say!
Get out!

I was blown away. Any thoughts of doing work in Father's bathroom evaporated.

The next day I met Mother and she asked me how many days it would take to do the work and told me to prepare the materials.

I was shocked! The pat answer to every question in those days was "Just unite and follow True Parents." I wanted to follow True Parents, but I just didn't know which one of them to follow!

Several weeks later Parents left on a trip for several days and Paul Fontaine and I did the job. It turned out pretty well and was completed before Parents return.

The custom at East Garden was if practical, to greet True Parents when they returned home. Parents arrived and as Mother entered the foyer She was looking at me for a nod of reassurance that every thing went smoothly.

Being the wise cracker that I am, I looked down at the ground shaking my head indicating failure. This gesture definitely peaked Mother's interest and put a spring in her step as she and father headed up stairs to see the "disaster."

I went down stairs to my room and waited. It was less than five minutes before the message came: "Father wants to come to his room right away!"

I headed up stairs to my doom. I met Parents and for the first time Father said "You did a good job!" They gave me a souvenir from their trip as a gift.

You can't just follow absolutely. I would rephrase that to say that following someone absolutely doesn't remove your responsibility for what you do.

In this story Mother's motivation was to make Father's life more convenient by giving him a shower and a bathroom that worked well. Father's motivation was not to have his life and his capacity to do God's will disrupted by construction work in his personal bathroom. Even though the direction from Father and Mother was opposite, Both wanted to accomplish God's will.

I had to choose which True Parent to follow. Mother had to be willing to take responsibility if I screwed up this job. I did too. I had to be ready to accept responsibility for disobeying Father.

We have to be responsible for the choices we make and for the results of choosing to follow someone. 

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