I know this sounds strange, but BooBoo is the pet name I use for my daughter, Sara. How did I come up with it? Well, that is also somewhat strange.

It began when I was a little girl. Sometimes, when I was at my grandparent’s house, my uncle would tell me, “Shh, listen.” I just didn’t listen. Oh no. I completely stopped what I was doing and didn’t move for I knew what was coming next. Thump. Thump. Thump. After we heard those knocks, my uncle would say, “That means BooBoo’s on his way.”

At that point, I was terrified. Immediately, I turned and ran. Yes, I wanted to get away before BooBoo arrived. But most importantly, I had to find my momma or daddy. I knew BooBoo couldn’t get to me when I was with one of them.

What was BooBoo? It was something my uncle made up to have some fun at my expense. As for my child’s mind, I thought it was the devil. Nobody ever said that to me, but I learned about him in Sunday school and church. I guess I connected scary and bad things with him. By the way, that is very true.

I eventually figured out my uncle was the one knocking on the wall. You know, I should have realized that BooBoo wasn’t real since my uncle was never afraid of it. And if others were in the room, they would laugh as I ran away in terror.

There was also another thing that frightened me as a child. Our house was rectangular shaped and sat on top of a hill. When it was windy, sometimes the wind would whoosh around the back corner of our house, which was where my bedroom was located. And when that happened, the wind howled. Or bet yet, it moaned. To me, it sounded like moans from ghosts that I had seen in scary movies. I just knew a mournful ghost was howling outside my room.

I ran to my momma’s out stretched arms as hard as I could go. I think the moaning wind scarred me more than BooBoo did. My mom said my hair flew out behind as I ran to her. But let me tell you, when I reached those arms, I knew I was utterly and completely safe.

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be they shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4 (KJV)

Just as I felt completely safe in my parents’ arms, so should we as believers feel safe with our Lord. Who can touch us when we completely trust in Him? If you do ever feel afraid, run to Him so fast that your hair flies out behind you.

Are you wondering why I call Sara BooBoo? For one, the fear of BooBoo is something that I overcame. Now, I can look back on that adventure in my childhood and smile. It has actually become a treasured time of innocence. And I treasure my daughter and smile when I think of her.