Being an East Tennessee girl, I have heard the phrase, “no tellin’” countless times. It can be used as another term for “who knows.”
For example: somebody may ask, “Do you think it will snow?” The proper response would be, “No tellin.’” That being said, I’m going to use that phrase in a little different context for this article.
You see, I was a “no tellin’” kid. No, I didn’t go around saying that all time. But, for some reason, I wouldn’t tell my parents anything until the last minute. Much to their distress, I did this quite often. There was this one time that I had a big project due when I was in the middle school. I told my parents the night before it was due. My dad ended up being the one to work on it. I really did feel bad about that.
Then there was the time we had a picnic day in elementary school where we brought our own lunches. I told my mom that morning as she drove me to school.
Since she didn’t know about it, she didn’t have anything to pack for me. In desperation, she drove up to the local store in our community. I don’t remember everything she bought, but I think there was a small bag of chips, some cheese crackers with peanut butter, and a small pecan pie. At first, I felt bad about that as well, but when I got to school, everybody else was jealous of my junk food lunch.
“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8 (KJV)
I think a lot of times, we don’t really talk to The Lord since we are aware that He knows all of our thoughts. While that is true, He wants us to bring our hearts and issues to Him so that He can have a real relationship with us. So that we know just how much we trust Him.
My most memorable “No tellin’” moment happened when I was in kindergarten. One morning, I fought my mom as she tried to comb out my hair. She slung the brush down and said, “Then go on to school with your hair looking like that!” When she picked up me that day, she found out that it had been picture day and I hadn’t told her. That wonderful picture is the one with the article. If you look very close at it, you can see my hair standing up on the back of my head. Personally, I think it makes the picture special.
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.