I simply couldn’t believe it. It was a surprise and not a pleasant one.
When I was 12 years old, one of my classmates had a birthday party and I was the only one in our group of friends who was wasn’t invited. To beat it all, I had no idea until I heard them talk about it at school. Yep, they talked about the birthday party right in front of me. I couldn’t understand why they would do that. Let me tell you, it really hurt. I wondered what I done wrong to deserve that.
Naturally, I asked the “birthday girl” straight out to her face why wasn’t I invited. She answered that she had it at the skating rink and that I was the only one who couldn’t skate. What fun would I have sitting there while they skated and had fun?
Did I buy that answer? Not totally. In all fairness, I should have had the consideration to make that decision myself. At that point, I decided that I was going to learn how to roller skate. That way, I wouldn’t be put in the position to be left out again. I told mom about it, but she had never skated and didn’t know how. That’s when my younger cousin stepped in and offered to teach me. I eagerly accepted. This is the same cousin from my “Possum Roast” story. It’s the one where her daddy told me their pot roast was really a possum he killed up on the ridge.
Anyway, she had her own roller skates as did her momma. Her mom let me wear hers. They were a little big, but I didn’t let that stop me. There was a concrete pad at their back door. On it, my cousin taught me how to skate. It really didn’t take that long for me to catch on. Her momma even let me borrow her skates so I could practice skating on my mamaw and papaw’s carport. Let me tell you, as I finished my homework, I was skating. It was so much fun. Being the geek that I am, I always get excited when I learned something new. But this new skill would include me on parties at the skating rink.
“And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” Leviticus 20:26 (KJV)
While it does hurt to be left out, there are times we need to be as Believers. We shouldn’t want to be included in ungodly things. Instead, we need to remember that we belong to the Lord who is holy.
Ironically, I did go to birthday parties at the skating rink, but none of them were for my old group of friends. As I grew older, my friends changed. By the time I was in the middle school, I was skating every Friday and Saturday with my new friends. I even met a boyfriend there when I was in the eighth-grade. I guess you can call that my first date. Are you wondering if I kissed him? I didn’t. I was too busy doing something more fun: skating.
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.