“What in tarnation!?” When I heard this, I knew it was Mamaw Jo’s way of letting me know that she wanted me to investigate something. To this day, it still happens to me.
A few years ago, I was minding my business at work when I heard: “What in the world is that?” Even though my coworker said it loud enough for the whole office to hear, he was actually talking to me. Why? My position at that time was to assist my coworkers and to ensure the office ran smoothly. So, I asked:“What’re you talking about? Is something wrong?” He pointed out of his window. “I think that’s a dead deer.”
Next to our office was a field with tall grass and one scrawny tree. In my mind, if there really was a dead deer lying in it, it should be easy to see. So, I got up from my desk and walked over and peered out of his window. “All I see is the tree with some scrub underneath it.” He got up from his desk and pointed to beneath the tree. “See those two small things sticking up over the grass? I think the deer is lying on its back and those are its legs sticking up in the air.” To be honest, I couldn’t tell. While my eyes have never been the best, I didn’t see deer legs as he had. “Do, you mind to check it out?” He asked. “I just have to know for sure.”
“You really gonna do this?” My other coworker asked. “Looking for dead deer isn’t part of your job description.” I shrugged and answered: “Might as well. At least it’s a nice day.” With that I went out the back door and began to trudge my way across the field to the tree. My first thought was that I was technically trespassing. Next, I remembered to watch for snakes since the grass could’ve easily hid them. Then I had a realization: there were no hawks circling overhead. Since I had grown up out in the country on Papaw’s farm, I had seen hawks, crows and other critters scavenge a carcass. They usually took care of it in just a few days. To me, that meant that either it wasn’t a dead deer or it had just died.
The closer I walked to it, the better I could make out that there was no animal underneath the tree. What he had thought were legs, were actually two pieces of wood sticking up out of the ground. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any pictures since I had left my phone on my desk. So, I walked back to the office and told my coworker what he had seen was two pieces of wood. Of course, it didn’t take to kindly to that. “Are you sure? There’s no way that’s wood!” I replied: “You’re welcome to go look for yourself.” He declined and went back to his desk. The rest of the day, he would occasionally peer out of his window toward the tree. There were a couple of times I thought he may get up and go out to the tree himself, but he never did.
“They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.” Isaiah 44:18 (KJV)
My coworker couldn’t make out what he was really seeing. I think it is the same for the Lord in that many people have spiritual blindness in that they don’t recognize Him or His greatness. Do you? If you want to really see God, all you have to do is seek Him.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Matthew 7:7 (KJV)
I didn’t divulge everything I noticed to my coworker. For one, the pieces that he thought were deer legs, was nothing like the wood of the scrawny tree. The pieces were thicker than those of the tree’s limbs. For another, I could tell they were a different type of wood. So how did they get there? At first, I wondered if they could have been blown in by wind, but if that was the case, there would’ve been more pieces of wood around the tree. There wasn’t. Did somebody place them there and if so, why? I scratched my head and said: “What in tarnation?”
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.