Not many people know this but, I absolutely love to watch fire burning in the fireplace or at a bon fire. In fact, I have told Tim I would like to have a fire pit in the back yard. Considering what happened to me as a child, it is surprising that I enjoy watching fires.
We had gone to my great uncle’s house. I don’t know how old I was exactly, but I don’t think I was in school yet. At this time, I was still the only great grandchild. That also meant I was the only child in the house. As usual, I stayed with my momma for a while. I remember getting bored at the women’s conversations. Then I walkout around his house until I found my uncle and cousins. At this time, they were still in their teens.
They were sitting in the floor and playing cards. Of course, I wanted to play. And of course, they said I was too young. After a few moments of whining, I decided to lean over and look at my cousin’s cards in his hands. Now, for some reason, they had lit a candle and it was sitting on the floor next to my cousin. When I bent down, my long hair fell into the flame.
To this day, I can still see the fire racing up the strand of hair as my cousin desperately snapped at it with his hands.
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 27:12 (KJV)
While I was old enough to know fire was very dangerous, I didn’t realize my hair was long enough to get into the flame. Basically, I wasn’t paying enough attention. If you think about it, sin and evil are similar to the candle’s flame. If we don’t pay attention and get too close, we may get burned.
Thankfully, my cousin was able to get the flame out before it reached my head and more hair. But there was another instance of somebody’s hair catching fire. At one of Sara’s birthday parties, she leaned forward to blow out the candles. At this same instant, her cousin Erin leaned forward. Too far forward. Yep, you guessed it. The end of one of her pig tails went right into a lit candle. Tim immediately clapped the fire out with his hands. So, if you ever come to our house, I promise not to light a candle.
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.