It Wasn't You
Have you ever heard the old saying that everybody has a twin somewhere? Do you believe it? I do because I experienced it.
It was a very exciting time for me when I started attending Halls Middle School in the seventh grade. I so looked forward to meeting new people and making new friends. What I didn’t expect was others coming up to me and telling they had seen a girl who looked just like me. Some even said she could’ve been my twin. I hadn’t previously experienced anything like that. Since I was an only child, I imagined it was some long lost relative. Guess what? I was correct.
A few of my classmates told me it was probably a girl in the wing next to ours. Early one morning I walked to it and found her. I was surprised at how much we favored; except she was a little taller than me. In all fairness, who isn’t? Anyway, we even had the last name: Holbert. Come to find out, she was a distant cousin on my daddy’s side. Naturally, I thought I had found the girl people were talking about. I was wrong.
The “Brooke” sightings escalated when I reached high school. It wasn’t my new found cousin either because she was too tall. People saw her at the mall, local stores, pool, and even at the skating rink. Some didn’t believe it wasn’t me that they saw and thought I was joking with them: “I know that was you.” A few couldn’t tell at first: “I had to take a second look.” Others took a little longer: “I went to over to talk to you, but it wasn’t you.” To be honest, I got used to hearing that phrase. But there was one time I was thankful to hear it.
Back in the early 90s, I was driving down Norris Freeway. Mamaw Jo was about a couple of minutes behind me. At that time, I had a small red Dodge car. My dog Pobby was riding with me. By the way, she’s the one who snacked on my bible. As I’m driving, I see this car waiting to pull out. About the time I got to it, she lurched forward and then slammed on the brakes. We were in an open area on the freeway, so there was no excuse for not seeing me. I drove on to my grandparents’ house. After Mamaw finally got home, she told about a wreck at the same place where the lady almost pulled out in front of me. One of the cars involved was a small red Dodge that also had a dog in it. So Mamaw just knew it was me and was upset until she drove by it. That’s when she realized it was somebody else. “Thank God it wasn’t you.”
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabonni; which is to say, Master.” John 20:16 (KJV)
I did realize something about the “Brooke” sightings. Those who were close to me, figured out really quick that she wasn’t me. Those who were confused longer, didn’t know me as well. The same happened to Mary in the above verse in that she didn’t recognize Jesus until He said her name. Then she immediately knew and had no doubt who He was. When you are close to the Lord, you know when it is He that is talking to you. Conversely, you also know when it isn’t Him. Do you know Him that well?
If you ever see somebody who looks like me, there is one thing you can do to see if it’s really me or not: offer some chocolate. If she refuses, then be rest assured that it isn’t me because that is one thing that I will never do.
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.
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