I get so aggravated at myself at times. Why? Because when I’m having fun, I have the tendency to not use my brain. At all. Yes, that has caused me a few problems over the years.
At times, it I’ve been so embarrassed. A good example of this happened when I was in the seventh grade. I was a gym aide that year and I absolutely loved it. For a few weeks, we studied volleyball. So, the gym floor was completely covered with nets. During one gym class, I was having a lot of fun with some of the kids. One of them not only hit the volleyball incorrectly, but they hit it very hard. Of course, the ball soared across the gym. When it landed, it continued to roll further away.
“I’ll get it!” I shouted. Since I was a gym aide, that was my job. I gleefully chased after the volleyball. I picked it up and quickly spun around to run back to my friends. That’s when I noticed horrified expressions on a group of kids faces standing next to a net. Before I could ask what was wrong, my right foot politely wrapped around the base of a pole for the net and I slammed the gym floor. Hard. I’m surprised I didn’t bounce. My first thought was that I was in some pain. Next, I realized that I had been in such hurry to get back to have more fun that I didn’t pay attention to what was literally in front of me. Then I felt so embarrassed as everybody was looking down at me and asking if I was hurt. I jumped up: “I’m good. I’m good.” I carefully went after the volleyball that was now rolling off in another direction.
Then there was the time that I was terrified. Literally. It happened at the TVA & I fairgrounds the summer I was fourteen years old. ’I went with my best friend to her dad’s company picnic. We had another friend join us as well. That was so exciting to me. Best of all, the weather was perfect on the day of the picnic. After we ate, the three of us ran around under a tree. When we decided to walk over to the other side of the park, my friends walked a little ahead of me. As I meet people, I saw terrified expressions on their faces. But this time, they weren’t looking straight into my face. Instead, they were looking at my tee shirt. Being the klutz I am, I figured I had dropped mustard or ketchup on it. I glanced down and gasped in horror.
I realized all too well why they were looking at me as they had. Clinging on the middle of my shirt was a huge brown, creepy spider. That memory is burnt into my brain. I knew that I needed to get the eight-legged monster off of me before it decided to crawl further up my shirt. That would not have been good. At first, I wasn’t sure how to get it off of my shirt. I know most people would’ve just flicked it off with their fingers. Not me. I didn’t want to touch it. Ick!! So, I picked up a stick, prayed, and quickly swiped it across the front of my shirt in one fluid motion. Thankfully it worked. Are you wondering how it got there in the first place? I must have run through its web as I was playing with my friends. You see, I was so caught up with having fun that I didn’t see the spider sitting on its web and I ran right through it.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)
As you just read in my misadventures , it isn’t safe or wise to not think ahead or pay attention to your surroundings. In the above verse the Apostle Peter warns us to always be alert and grounded since the devil seeks to destroy us. So don’t become consumed by fun or worldly things. Instead, stay grounded in the Lord.
I had another incident my seventh-grade year when we went on a field trip to the James White Fort in Downtown Knoxville. As we were walking down the sidewalk, I was goofing around with my friends instead of watching where I was going. Of course, I walked straight into a parking meter. A boy further back in line began laughing and making fun of me. While doing so, he also walked straight into a parking meter. He got quiet after that.
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.