“I want some rat chips Momma!”

My mom and I both were speechless. We had just walked by a vending machine. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if Sara wasn’t pointing toward it and calling out, “I want some rat chips.”

“What in the world is she talking about?” Mom asked me.

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“I want some rat chips Momma!”

Since Sara was four years old, she hadn’t learned how to read yet and wasn’t able to tell me the name on the package. I peered at all the snacks displayed in the vending machine. Nothing in it struck me as being labeled as “Rat Chips.” As creative as I like to think I am, I couldn’t envision what a package of “Rat Chips” would look like. So I suggested a few of the other snacks.

“No, momma, no. I want some rat chips.” Now Sara sounded as if she was pleading instead of asking.

What was I going to do? Maybe I could buy one of everything in the machine. Then I realized she was still pointing toward what she was calling “Rat Chips.” I knelt down beside her followed the direction of her finger.

I almost laughed out loud when I realized the package she was pointing to. “Honey, Chester Cheeze is a cat. He’s not a rat!”

Immediately I got her the bag. Mom and I laughed as Sara munched on her “Rat Chips.”

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Over the years, I have learned the hard way that my own understanding isn’t as great as I think it is. And I have probably wasted my precious time in desperation as I struggled to understand and figure out things myself. The best thing to do is to trust the Lord to provide with the answers when we need them.

As for me, I have never forgotten that day and I don’t let Sara forget it either. There have been times we’ve been walking down the chip aisle at the store and to her horror I’ll call out in a loud voice: “Hey, Sara, you want some Rat Chips!”

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. Also, she is a member of Toastmasters and will be attending storytelling camp again for the 4th summer. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. And 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.