If you have read any of my articles, you know that I like to write about my childhood memories from church. I have one that left such an impression on me that I have never forgotten it.
It happened one Sunday evening when I was around four years old. During the church service, my friend Sheryl sat with me. We were drawing on paper my parents had brought. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I laughed out loud during a quiet moment. As soon as it happened, I knew I was in hot water. Immediately my dad took me outside and bent me over his knee. To this day, I remember seeing bright lights from the church windows shining in the dark as I got my spanking. I also remember the way everybody looked at me when we came back inside. Needless to say, I never did that again
Now let’s skip forward to 2011. That’s when my sweet Papaw passed away. By that time, I was attending a different church. So, there were many people I talked to at the receiving of friends that I hadn’t seen in many years. And yes, some of them were there the night I got into trouble. Thankfully nobody mentioned it. Then there was this one elderly gentleman who came through the line. He looked very familiar to me. My mom said, “My goodness. It’s so good to see you again Preacher Anderson.” He had been the pastor at church in the 1970s. When I reached out to shake his hand, I had planned on saying my name in case he didn’t recognize me. After all, I hadn’t seen him since I was in the third grade. But I didn’t get the chance. He clasped my hand into his and said: “Brooke, I baptized you!”
“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of thy hand; thy walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:16 (KJV)
When Preacher Anderson said that to me, I was speechless for a few seconds. At that time, it had been 37 years since he baptized me and he still remembered it. I had no idea it meant that much to him. In the verse above, The Lord is reassuring us that we are so important to Him that there is no way He can forget us. Not only that, but we are always on His mind.
For the record, Preacher Anderson wasn’t the pastor when I got in trouble that fateful evening. I have no doubt the other preacher at that time didn’t forget me either.
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.