Have you ever had something happen that you thought you couldn’t explain? It happened to me as a child while I was being a “Smarty Pants.”
The women at our old church used to have a circle meeting once a month. In these meetings, each lady brought a covered dish so they could spend the evening in fellowship and discussing church matters. They would take turns hosting it in their homes. Then came the month when it was Mamaw Jo’s turn to host. At this time, I think I was around 9 years-old. I helped her clean house and set extra chairs out in the living room.
That evening when the women were having a good time together, we kids went to the back of the house and played. Now, that’s where the steps were located for going upstairs. I wanted to play on them, but nobody else did. You see, all the lights upstairs were off, so it was pitch black up there.
Why didn’t the darkness scare me? Because, my grandparents’ house was my other home. We lived next door, so I was in their house as much as in my parents’ house. I had climbed those steps with no lights on upstairs several times. I proceeded to walk up the steps and sit down on the upstairs floor. None of the other kids followed me. Being the sweet and kind child I was, I began to laugh at them. “You all are just too chicken to come up here,” I taunted. Let me tell you, when I was a kid, the last thing you wanted to be called was a “chicken.” It was one of the worse things you could be called.
It happened as was I yelling: “Chicken!” Suddenly, I felt a tap on my right shoulder. It wasn’t a gentle one. It felt as if a finger had poked me as hard as it could. I know there was nobody else on the second floor but me. The only other person who wasn’t in the circle meeting was my papaw and he was in the front room watching TV.
Let me tell, I tore down those steps. It took me about 2 seconds to go down 15 steps. Being the klutz that I am, I don’t know how I didn’t fall and hurt myself. Let’s just say it was the Grace of God. Anyway, my heart was still pounding when I told the other kids what had happened to me. Then we all took off running and screaming into the circle meeting. Needless to say, that went over too well.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
My momma and my mamaws told me what I had experienced was only my overactive imagination. After I settled down, I realized they were right. Needless to say, I was embarrassed. Worst of all, when I panicked, it caused the other kids to panic as well. That’s what happens when you have a spirit of fear. So, always have a spirit of power, love, and keep your wits about you.
Are you wondering if I went back up those steps again in the dark? Yep. I most certainly did, so you all can’t call me “chicken.”
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.