I don’t like to admit it, but there were some girlie things I actually used to love when I was very young. One was my dresser.
To this day, I fondly remember it. I was so excited when my Papaw EO and Mamaw Jo bought it for me at Sears. I have often said Mamaw could have lived there. Anyway, it was white and made of plastic. It had one large compartment in the middle that was covered by a mirror that I could raise up and down. In it, I kept a had a large square pink hair brush and a few hairbows and ribbons. Before I put in a hard day of playing outside, my momma would either put my hair in pigtails or a ponytail. As Mamaw Jo used to say, that kept my “stringy” hair out of my face. Another thing that I loved and kept in the compartment was my little jewelry box. When I opened it, a little plastic ballerina would pop up and spin around to music. Fortunately for me, the jewelry box I have now is much bigger. So, during the day, I would wrestle with my cousins, dig up worms and bugs, but in the evening, I loved sitting at my little white dresser while brushing my long golden blonde hair. That made me feel more like a big girl.
One evening at my dresser, things went a little different than usual. As I was brushing my hair, my momma crawled into my room. Yes, you read that correctly. She crawled in on her hands and knees. Those of you who know my mom probably are not surprised by that. You see, she has always been quite playful and likes to play jokes on people. But I was still a little kid. At first, I was confused because I had never before seen her play like that. Then she began to make snarling noises while scrunching up her face. Well, that did it. I went from being confused to being scared. What was wrong with her? Had she changed into some kind of monster and forgotten who I was? Or did something take over her body? Where was my sweet momma? As she neared, I realized I had no choice but to protect myself. The only weapon I had was my big square brush, so I reared it back.
I had a couple of thoughts on this and they’re both about my faith in my momma.
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Matthew 8:17 (KJV)
Of course, my mom was surprised by my defensive action. She jumped up to her feet: “I was just playing. You ought to know that not only would I never hurt you, but I would take it for you instead.” I felt so guilty as laid my pink weapon into the dresser.
My mom has always had a sacrificial love, which is love in its truest form. That is also the love that Jesus has for each and every one of us. He who knew no sin took our sins and punishment upon himself.
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6 (KJV).
Then my momma went on to say: “Why did you think I was capable of hurting you?” I answered: “I thought you had changed.” She shook her head. “I’ll never change that much.”
We can rest assured that the Lord will never change at all. We may, but not Him.
Needless to say, my mom never played like that with me again. I don’t blame her. Also, neither one of us did Sara that way when she was a little girl. But I did tell her that story one day and she became quite upset with me: “Momma! You should’ve known better than that!” From the mouth of babes.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you