Sara was so excited. Her friend Skippy was coming over to play. We were all expecting to have a fun evening, but when Skippy and his family arrived, things quickly changed.
“We’ve got a big problem!” Those were the first word’s out of Skippy’s mother’s mouth as she walked through the front door. My first thought was that Skippy had thrown up in their car. Or worse, on our front porch. Unfortunately, for him and us, it wasn’t that simple. Then she said, “He has a Lite Brite bulb stuck up his nose!”
That took a second for me to process. But when I saw a crying Skippy being carried in by his daddy, I knew this wasn’t going to be a simple fix. Of course, his mother wanted to take him to the Emergency Room. His dad said, “If it’s not too far up in his nose, we can probably get ourselves.”
I didn’t want my six-year-old child to be around as we dug out the Lite Brite. My mom was there, so I had her take Sara back to her bedroom and shut the door. I wished I could have joined them, but I knew I would have to help his parents.
Skippy’s mom sat down in the kitchen floor and held him in her lap as she sat against the bottom cabinets for support. Even though he was three years old, he had lots of strength. I sterilized my tweezers and gave them to his dad. Then I held the flashlight so his dad could see up into Skippy’s nose.
“I see it! It’s not that far up!” He exclaimed.
I was so relieved to hear that for I thought we would soon be finished in our rescue operation. Nope. I was very wrong. Every time his dad grasped the bulb with his tweezers, Skippy would squeal and suck it back up into his nose. Bless his little heart, Skippy cried more as time went on. His momma was trying not to cry and I could feel the tension in the back of my tightening neck. After what seemed like an eternity, his dad clasped the tweezers onto the bulb and yanked it out. You better believe all of us adults thanked Jesus.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6 (KJV)
Eve saw the pleasant apple and ate it. Skippy saw the pretty Lite Brite bulb and stuck it up his nose. It is human nature to go after something that is pretty or pleasant to us, but that doesn’t mean it is also good for us. When in doubt, pray about it. Plus, keep in mind Skippy’s mistake has been over for years, but we are still dealing with Adam’s and Eve’s.
The Lite Brite in Skippy’s nose wasn’t even his since he didn’t have one. His older cousin had some of the bulbs in a bag and one fell out when he was last in their car. Nobody had seen it, well, except for Skippy. Needless to say, the cousin didn’t get his Lite Brite bulb back. I don’t think he would’ve wanted it at that point anyway.
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.