When I was a girl, I absolutely loved to rough-house with my uncle, who was a few years older than me. We had so much fun until Mamaw Jo fussed at us to stop because we were “getting on her last nerves.” To be honest, I felt bad for my Mamaw Jo. She had no idea the fun she was missing out on. Ironically, years later, I was the one trying to stop the fun.
It was a Friday evening and one of Sara’s friends was spending the night. While Tim and I were watching TV, we began to hear loud thumps coming from her room. I walked in to find Sara and her friend spinning around and then slinging each other across the room. I could tell they were having a good time, but I knew I had to put an end to it. “You two need to stop this before one of you gets hurt.” With that, I went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. A couple of minutes later I heard a loud thud as Sara hit the floor. Then I heard her crying.
We took her to the Emergency Room at Children’s hospital. Even though her left arm was broken, they didn’t have to set the bone, but she did need a cast. I guess you can say this was the first cast for the both of us. I had never had one either, so I didn’t know that much about them.
After a few weeks, her cast needed to changed. As I drove her to the doctor’s office, she began to cry. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m afraid of having my cast changed,” she answered between sobs. “I don’t want them to accidently cut off my arm!”
“So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;” Proverbs 2:2 (KJV)
Why did Sara think what she did? Because some of her friends had told her that the nurse would use a saw to cut off the cast and it could also get her arm. She had no idea what to expect, so she believed what her friends had told her. I think that is something we all do at times. We listen to others who seem to know what they are talking about. But, it’s best to reason out what we are being told, pay attention to what seems good and wise, and not believe everything that makes it to our ears.
Of course, I tried to reassure her that wouldn’t happen, but since I had never had a cast, Sara wasn’t too keen on listening to me. Bless her heart. When we were in the doctor’s office, I told the nurse what Sara had been told. The nurse reassured her he had a special cutting tool that wouldn’t cut human skin. He turned it on and thumped it against his own arm. After that, she was okay. We even kept her old cast as a souvenir. I guess you could call it a stinky reminder to not believe everything you hear.
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.