I had an older cousin while growing up who did some of the coolest things. For instance, every summer he would catch June Bugs. He would tie a string around them and hold on to the other end. When he opened his hand, the June Bugs would take off and fly around him in a circle. I remember them making a loud buzzing noise. Then my cousin would untie the bugs and let them go. The bugs were never injured. Maybe a little inconvenienced if you can do that to a bug.
While I thought this was a neat thing to watch, I was hesitant about trying to catch a June Bug myself. Even though I was a tough little tomboy, I didn’t want to touch those icky things. By the way, did you know they are a type of scarab beetle?
There was this one thing my cousin would do that I really wanted to do too, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work for me. No, there weren’t any bugs involved in this one. He would pluck a blade of grass and nestle it sideways between his two thumbs while clasping his hands together. Then he would wet his lips and blow onto the taunt blade. Let me tell you, it made a shrill high-pitched whistling sound. In essence, he had made a grass whistle. Of course, I wanted to make one too. Who wouldn’t? Talk about impressing your friends at school.
I don’t know how many blades of grass I picked as I attempted to make my own grass whistle. Most of the time, I pulled the blade too tight and broke it. On the occasion I didn’t break it, the blade of grass became to wet to make any noise. I think more of my spit hit it than my breath. I guess you can say that gives a whole new meaning to the term: “Wet your whistle.”
My cousin saw my failure and frustration and tried to teach me how to do it. He told me that any old blade wouldn’t do. It had to be the right width and length with no bug holes or brown places. He even tried to help me get the right tension between my thumbs. Nothing worked. That being said, there were a couple of times I was able to get a squeaky noise.
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:6 (KJV)
I was frustrated because I was attempting to do what somebody else was able to do instead of focusing on my abilities. While I never got the hang of the grass whistle, I loved writing short stories. That was and is the gift He gave me. You see, God made each one of us unique. And when we become believers, He blesses us with a spiritual gift that works best for the way He designed us to be.
So, use your own spiritual gifts and don’t try to do somebody else’s. That way you won’t end up like me and my wet grass whistle.
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.