Have you ever felt lost in your own home? I did back when I was teenager and it was scary.
Way back in the 1970s, my parents added a larger living room onto our house with a basement underneath it. And in that basement, they put in a woodstove. Let me tell you, it kept the living room nice and warm all winter.
One fateful day, my mom had to work the second shift, so when I came in from high school, I went next door to my grandparents’ house. Mamaw Jo told me, “There’s something wrong. Your momma stoked the fire before she left, but there’s no smoke billowing out of the chimney. She forgot to open the damper before she left.”
Being the bright kid I was, I asked, “So?”
“So, the smoke is going inside the basement. If the back door isn’t opened, the smoke will eventually get upstairs,” Mamaw answered.
I knew that meant I was to be the one to open the basement door. I grabbed the key and ran home. When I walked inside, I didn’t notice anything. I wondered if Mamaw Jo had exaggerated about the smoke. Then I opened the door to the basement and flipped the light on. All I could see was a dense cloud of black smoke. It was so dense that I could hardly see the light.
To be honest, I didn’t want to go down to the basement, but I knew I had to do it. When I reached the bottom of the steps, I literally couldn’t see a thing. It was disorienting. And then I became frightened. What if I got turned around as I tried walk to the outside door? How would I find my way? Would the smoke overtake me?

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13-14(KJV)
You know, it’s easy to get turned around and confused in life. It happens at one point in all of our lives; and when it does, it’s best to pray for guidance instead of just following the crowd. Because Jesus loved you enough to die for your sins, He will never lead you astray.
After my moment of panic, I came to my senses. The basement door stood next to the block wall, so all I had to do was keep my hand on the wall and walk forward. I did just that. I will never forget the feeling of opening the door and seeing sunlight again as I ran up the steps. Best of all, I didn’t fall.
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.