WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE

I believe I was four, or five years old at the time. My sister was sixteen months younger than me. We were playing outside by a tree in the sideyard of our humble little home in the small town of Theo. The same place we lived when my sister rode The Horse That Almost Reached The Sky. All of a sudden we heard a faint noise coming from somewhere up the road. It sounded a bit like a helicopter, but not exactly. It sounded somewhat like the wings of a thousand hummingbirds, but we knew that wasn’t what it was. All we could do was wondered what could it be.

As the noise came closer, we ran to the front porch where our grandmother was sitting with our aunt. Soon we found out what was making that awful noise. It was a gang of bikers on their motorcycles. There must have been a hundred, or more. As they came closer, the noise got louder, and soon all we could see was dust on the road. We lived on a gravel road, and our house was pretty close to it. We only had a small front yard. Thinking about it now, those motorcycles remind me of a cattle stampede.

After what seemed like forever, the noise started to fade, and soon the dust began to settle. In a few minutes, we began to be able to see the road again. Wow! It was kind of exciting, but scary at the same time. Kind of like watching a wild animal in the open woods. You want to keep watching to see what it does, but at the same time, you want to run for your life.

After a while, we went back to whatever we were playing out in the yard by the tree. We had forgotten about the motorcycles. We were engrossed in our childhood fun, when our aunt called out to us, and said, “Y’all come back to the porch, I hear them cranking up. They’re coming back.”

With that, we ran back to the porch. It wasn’t long until we saw the bikers coming around the curve bringing a cloud of dust with them. It was basically the same scene all over again as far as we could tell. We couldn’t see much farther than the edge of our porch. We couldn’t see the road at all. Then all of a sudden, out of the cloud of dust we saw a scary sight. A lone motorcycle wheel sped past the porch and smacked right into the very tree where we had been playing only a few minutes earlier.

I don’t remember if the guy whose motorcycle lost the wheel was hurt or not, but I do remember telling my kids that story when teaching them about obeying their parents. My grandmother raised us, so she was our parent. God tells us to obey our parents (Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20, Exodus 20:12). Our aunt, our grandmother’s sister, helped her in our raising as well. Plus, we were taught back then to respect our elders.

If we had not listened and gotten away from that tree, we might have gotten hurt. Maybe pretty bad. That was a big wheel, and it smacked that tree pretty hard. I miss being a kid. I miss living in that little house, and I miss my grandmother. I’m looking forward to that day when Jesus comes to restore everything back to the perfect condition he created it in, In The Beginning. My anticipation grows stronger every day.

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GRADUATION: ANOTHER MILESTONE

When my youngest son graduated from grammar school, he asked me to say a few words at the ceremony. I hope I inspired him with something I said. I was looking through some things I’ve written over the years and found the notes I used that night. Since I shared a story about my oldest son a few months ago I thought I’d share this about my youngest. Later I’ll share an interesting dream I had about my daughter, years ago that is now coming true. Here are my notes for the graduation speech. 

In 1998, God gave us our third child. We named him Matthew, Robert, Kyle. I remember it like it was only, fifteen years ago. LOL. He was a great baby. He was sleeping through the night in no time. He wasn’t much trouble at all. He was a happy baby. He laughed and smiled all the time, except when he was crying. Even when he was sick, we could still make him smile.

He was very affectionate and very loving. We could tell he loved us very much. I remember coming home from work before he could walk, and he would be so excited to see me, he would try so hard to come to meet me. I felt so loved. It wasn’t long before he started walking. Then he started running. Then he was everywhere.

Then, he started talking. And that’s all he did. He never stopped talking. He would even talk when he was sleeping. I hope he doesn’t mind me telling this story, but I just can’t resist. You’ll understand when you hear it. He was either five or six years old. He was talking, talking, and talking. Finally, I asked him, “Can you not be quiet for five minutes? You never stop talking.” That hurt his feelings, and he said, “I’m just gonna stop talking. Nobody wants to hear me talk, I’m not talking again as long as I live.” Not even a minute later, just out of the blue, he said, “Is Michael Jackson a woman”? Our family has had a lot of laughs from that one over the years.

I’ve always thought that people who talk a lot, don’t have time to think, but Kyle is certainly a thinker. He’s always had a very active imagination. He has a very creative mind. When he was younger he created his own Super Hero and even made an action figure of him. He has written songs and stories and is starting to write a book. He made the music for the slide show we saw earlier. He’s very creative.

I’m proud of you Kyle. I believe in you. You can do anything you set your mind to. In Mark 10:27, Jesus said, “With God, all things are possible.” God created you with so much potential. He believes in you. So, always believe in yourself. What does Philippians 4:13 say? Right. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Always depend on God. He wants you to. You’re not bothering him when you ask for his help. The Bible says he will supply all your needs. And you can believe it. Always remember to thank him for his blessings and answered prayers. Don’t wait until you need him to talk to him. Talk to him constantly. He’s your friend. He cares about what you care about. Remember to listen to him also. He has so much to tell us, we just need to listen.

I remember When I graduated from the eighth grade. I was so excited, but at the same time, it was pretty scary. I didn’t know what was ahead. Going to a new school. Meeting new people. New teachers. It was scary. But things change. It’s part of life.

We have to embrace it, and move on. Progress and grow. That’s how we become better, as long as we are trusting Jesus to guide us.

This is not the end, Kyle. It’s the beginning of the next stage of your life. As you continue your education, I want you to remember this. Things won’t always be good, but God is always there for you. For he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Never let things, or circumstances pull you away from God, nor people for that matter. Don’t let anything discourage you. You’ve made it this far, you can go all the way. Just make sure you take Jesus with you.

Congratulations on this milestone in your education son, and congratulations to all the class of 2014. Never stop learning, and never stop growing in Christ. God bless you all.

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https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6