There were a couple of things that bothered me when I was a girl: spiders and scabs. I know that’s a strange combination, but then again, it’s me. One of them caused me a major problem.
To say that I had scabs and bruises on me was an understatement. You see, I wasn’t just a little tomboy. No siree. I was also a very awkward one. I was constantly running into or falling over something, especially when I was outside. To me it came with the territory. Actually, I was rather proud of my bruises because it meant I was actually doing something besides sitting in front of the TV. Let’s face it, you can only watch “Gilligan’s Island” reruns so many times.
As for the scabs, they really got on my nerves. Don’t now why. They just did. So, I picked at them. I don’t mean to be gross, but that’s what I did. I started as soon as a scab formed. My mom often fussed at me: “Leave those scabs alone! They’re needed so your injury can heal without getting infected. You could also get a scar by not letting it heal.” My response: “Don’t like them and don’t care.”
One fateful day in the fourth grade we were working on an assignment. I scratched my head and felt a scab. It surprised me since I didn’t remember hitting my head. But since it was a scab, it needed to go, so I immediately began to pick at it. Unlike the other scabs, this one stayed in place. I didn’t understand why since it was hanging on only on one side. Not being one to give up easily, I kept at it. I yanked, pulled, and jerked. Finally, I felt it come off and into my fingers. Being a kid, I flicked it. Seconds later, I heard “Tick!” That’s when I realized what had happened. I didn’t flick a scab, but a tick and it had landed on Jaimie.
I told my teacher and she called my mom.
Of course, my mom left work to pick me up and head straight to the doctor’s office. Yeah, she was rather upset. I told her and the doctor what had happened. His main concern was whether or not the head was still attached when I pulled the tick out of my scalp. At first, I didn’t know, but then I had thought: “Jaimie said it was crawling on her, so I guess it still had it’s head.” At that point, I thought my mom was going to faint.
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 (KVJ)
I chose this verse because it reflects my stubbornness of not listening to my mom’s advice. In fact, I daresay that all of us have experienced problems and issues because we didn’t listen to wise counsel. So, the next time somebody tries to give you advice, pray and think about it. You know, there are worse things than finding a tick.
A few years ago, Tim found a tick imbedded in his chest. I was able to successfully get it off of him. When I told my mom, she asked how I did it. I told her I placed my fingers between the tick’s body and head and turned it counter clockwise. Again, I thought she was going to faint.
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.