NO CHICKEN FOR ME PLEASE

When I was around nine or ten years old, I lived in the small town of Theo, Mississippi with my grandmother, and two of my younger sisters. The town was only a few square miles in size, so we could walk to the store, or walk to visit our aunt or any of the neighbors my grandmother decided to visit. We didn’t have a car, but our aunt did, so if we needed to go outside our little community, she would take us.

One day, we walked to the store, and on our way back home, we stopped to visit one of the neighbors who was friends with my grandmother. They had known each other for many years.

She was cooking the next meal for her family so she invited us inside to visit while she cooked.

She asked my grandmother if we would like to stay, and eat with them. My grandmother thanked her for the invitation and accepted it. I was thinking, sure, okay, I’m a little hungry. I could eat something. She said, “We’re having chicken. Shake ‘n Bake chicken.” She had my attention because I loved chicken.

We were good kids, at least in other people’s homes. We were taught to be quiet and not interrupt while grownups were talking, so we sat still and were quiet, for the most part, as the adults talked, and laughed.

Then she started to prepare the chicken to cook. Back then, I don’t remember ever seeing chicken pre-cut, so the chicken was whole, and you had to cut it up yourself before cooking, so that’s what she did first. Then she washed the pieces of chicken and put them in a bowl.

Then, she put the Shake ‘n Bake mix in the bag and dropped a few pieces of chicken into the mix. Then, she proceeded to put the bag to her mouth and blow into it like a balloon filling it with air from her mouth. Then she started shaking it to coat the chicken with the breading.

“Oh, God! Help me, Jesus! Please get me out of here” That’s kind of what I was screaming in my mind. There was no way I was going to eat that chicken after what I just saw. I couldn’t tell them I didn’t want to eat it because I thought what she did was nasty, but I couldn’t even imagine eating it. So I told my grandmother I wanted to go home. I insisted and persisted. I told her I didn’t feel good, and I really didn’t after what I had just witnessed. I begged her, “Please, let’s go home. Please.” I begged, and pled with her until she finally gave in, and we went home.

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told a parable about a Persistent Widow. In verse 1, he tells us the meaning of the parable is that we should always pray and not give up until we get an answer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17, says to “pray without stopping.” We need to be in a constant state of prayer. We need to keep our connection with God open at all times, not only when we need something or want something. He’s always there, so we can talk to him all day long just like we would with any other friend.

We may not always get the answer we want, and the answer may not come immediately, but when we have some specific need, we should keep asking until he answers us.

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FIRECRACKERS, CIGARETTES, AND GOD

When I was a kid, my grandmother put an empty milk jug in the fork of a small tree in front of our house, to keep birds away, if I remember correctly. I loved firecrackers and she would buy me some once in a while. I was going to light one and drop it into the jug to see if anything close to what I was imagining would happen. So, I lit the firecracker with a match, then started to drop it into the jug, but before I could let it go, it exploded, making my ears ring, and making my fingers black, and throbbing with pain. I had a ringing in my right ear for the rest of the day. Lesson learned.

I was a very impressionable child. I had so many ideas, but such low self-esteem. I didn’t like who I was, so I wanted to be like others. When my sister got glasses, I wanted glasses.

I also wanted a cast on my arm. Maybe because our preacher’s son had one. It was a short one that only went about halfway up his forearm. I thought it was cool, so maybe that’s why I wanted one. Like I told one of my friends when I was telling this story to them, I was the dumbest kid that I have ever known in my entire life, and you’ll probably agree with me when I tell you this next thing. I wanted a cast on my arm so bad that I tried to break my own arm. It embarrasses me right now just telling you this, but it’s important.

Remember that small tree with the fork in our front yard? Well, I put my arm in the fork and tried bending it back in order to break it. See what I mean? I was a dumb kid. Thankfully, I chickened out and gave up. To this day, I’ve never had a broken bone, unless you count my fractured skull when I was in elementary school.

I really liked the preacher’s son and looked up to him. I thought he was so cool. He must have really been, because all the other kids at church thought he was, too. He dipped, so I wanted to dip. My grandmother bought me a can of Skoal and gave it to me. I tried to taste it a few times, but it smelled awful. When I finally taste it, it was awful, so I just walked around with it in my back pocket for a few weeks, then I gave up the idea. I tasted chewing tobacco by sticking it to my tongue, and it was not good at all, so I didn’t try anything like that again.

My aunts and uncles smoked cigarettes. My mother smoked Prince Albert tobacco that had to be rolled up in papers. She rolled three for me, put them in a can half full of tobacco, and gave me some papers and some matches. I walked around with those for a few days and never even let one. Eventually, I gave that idea up as well.

As a kid, I did and wanted to do some things that were not healthy for me, but there were several things I wanted to do that were good. I wanted to be a firefighter, a police officer, and a preacher, among many other things. I guess I wasn’t completely full of bad ideas.

As I look back on those days, I can see how God worked to guide me in the right direction, although I left the path several times in pursuit of things that were not good for me. I’m thankful for those experiences because they help me now to kind of understand how other people can make bad decisions in life.

I thank God for the good and wise people that he put in my life when I was growing up. I’m so thankful for my grandmother teaching me about Jesus and helping me to learn to love his holy word, the Bible. When I look back to my childhood, I see how much my thoughts and ideas have improved, and that gives me hope for the future. With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

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MY LITTLE SISTER

I was nine years old and I was at my aunt’s house with my two sisters and our grandmother when our mother popped in for a visit. I’m sure I already knew she was pregnant but that day was the first time I remember knowing. She stayed for a while and then she had to go. As she was leaving, I remember my aunt saying something like, “She’ll have that baby before the next full moon,” and I remember her confirming that she had been right when we heard that we had a new baby sister. We didn’t get to see the little rug rat as often as we wanted to but Momma would bring her to see us as often as she could and we would go visit them when we could.

My most memorable moment with her was when she was about two years old. Our Aunt Lee took us and our grandma to visit them. After several hours of playing and having loads of fun with her, it was time to leave. She was dirty all over from playing in the dirt and her face was the worst. She was giving everybody hugs and kisses and she came to me. We hugged and even though her face was covered with dirt, I was about to kiss her on the cheek. Just as I puckered up and came close to her face, she turned her head and kissed me right on my lips with the wettest, snottiest mouth you could imagine. I loved her, but I was spitting out the car window all the way home. It’s funny now and we’ve had several laughs about it over the years, but it wasn’t funny at all then.

When she was three years old, we moved next door to them. Then, we got to play with her all day, every day. We had lots of fun, but sometimes I guess we forgot that she was smaller and a bit more fragile than we were and she would get hurt. I liked pushing her in toy cars and on her tricycle. One day I noticed the extra dirt left over from putting our septic tank in the ground. It reminded me of one of the ramps that Evel Knievel would use to jump his motorcycle over different things. I couldn’t resist. I was thinking, “She has three wheels, she’ll be fine.” So, I told her to hold her feet up off the peddles, as I had before when I pushed her fast. Then I pushed her faster than ever, and I let her go with an extra shove just a few feet from the dirt mound. “Yes!” She jumped and landed on all three wheels without falling over or falling off the tricycle, BUT, she kept rolling for a bit too long. I saw her start wobbling and before I could get to her, she hit the front steps and fell over on them, and split her lip open. Momma wasn’t happy about that at all, so I felt bad for more than one reason. If you know what I mean.

We’re all grown up now and have children of our own, but I still have good memories of our childhood together and all the crazy fun we’ve had over the years. When I was seventeen, I wrote a song about her. It may not be a masterpiece, but here are the words.

SISTER MARY
by Teddy Lynn 
1985

VERSE 1
Eyes like diamonds, a smile bright as the sun
A dirty face from having too much fun
Snotty nose and a snotty kiss
I’m afraid someday I’ll be missing this

CHORUS
Sister Mary, I love you with all of my heart
We have to spend way too much time apart
I guess that makes me really appreciate you
Sister Mary, I’ll always be there for you

VERSE 2
Smiling from ear to ear reaching out for me
Your eyes full of tears when I have to leave
A heart full of love as big as the sky
Handfuls of kisses, but the days fly by

CHORUS…

BRIDGE
It won’t be long until you’re grown
You’ll marry and you’ll be gone
Everything may change and be rearranged
But my love for you will remain

CHORUS

Sister Mary © copyright 2010 Teddy Lynn – BMI

As I said, it’s not a masterpiece, that’s just how I expressed my feelings before blogging and social media came along. Siblings can sometimes have strained relationships and can sometimes even hate each other, but some share a great bond. I’m thankful for my little sister and the good relationship we’ve always had. Since we’ve grown up, we don’t see each other as often as we used to, but I still love her as much as I did when we were kids. There’s nothing like family, and there’s nothing like good memories, so cherish both, while you still have them.

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OUR BEST FRIEND

When I was really young I remember visiting my Aunt who lived just through the woods. We walked there quite often with our grandmother. She had a dog named Clete. I don’t know what kind of dog he was but my sister and I liked him a lot, and I guess he liked us, too. We played with him every time we would visit. Then one day she told us that he once belonged to her brother, who was our uncle. His name was Marvin.

Later, we learned a couple of interesting things about Uncle Marvin and Clete. First, Marvin was our uncle’s middle name. His first name was actually Cletus. He named the dog after himself and just called him Clete for short. Cletus is a strange enough name to me, but Clete doesn’t even sound like a name at all. I’m glad I found out where the name came from.

The second interesting thing we found out was that Uncle Marvin had given Clete to me and my sister, and our aunt was just keeping him for us. I never did find out why. Maybe we were too young. I don’t know. Eventually, though, we got to take him home. We had to keep him tied on a chain in our side yard, but we played with him every day. He was like a member of our family. He was our best friend.

We moved several times over the next few years and our buddy went with us. We grew up and he was still there, just as loyal and loving as ever. Then one day he got sick. We got medicine for him and he seemed to get better, but eventually, he died.

I’ll never forget the pain I felt knowing he was sick and there was nothing I could do to make him better. I wanted to hold him and pet him and comfort him, but we couldn’t even touch him. I’ll also never forget the pain I felt when he died. All my sisters and I could do was cry. We were all heartbroken. He was our best friend for so many years, and we loved him very much.

We missed our best friend after he died, but we still had each other and we were glad for that. At least we didn’t have to miss him alone. Our grandmother was there for us, to hug us, and hold us, and tell us it would be okay. We also had Jesus to help us through that tough time. Our grandmother had told us all about him early on, and how much he loves us, and the animal he created. She told us about death and why everything has to die. It’s because of sin.

When God created our world, everything was perfect and he gave everything to Adam to take care of. Then Satan came along, and Adam, by disobeying God, forfeited his governorship to the father of lies. Then Jesus came and lived a sinless life and died, and was resurrected, and he took the kingdom back from Satan.

Yes, death is still here, but it has no power over those who trust and obey God. One day Jesus will physically return, and destroy death and sin once and for all, and those who have been born again will live with him forever. I’m looking forward to that day. I can’t wait to see Jesus. I’ll also get to see my grandmother, my dad, and my sister all again. I don’t know about Clete. The Bible doesn’t say whether or not we will have our animal friends back, but I certainly think it’s possible. I know that God is powerful enough to do anything. I’d like to see Clete again, and all our animal friends we have had over the years as well as our family.

It’s a blessing to have family and friends in our lives, whether they are humans or animals. It’s also a blessing to be part of God’s family and to know that Jesus is there for us, no matter what we have to go through in life. He’s our friend, and he loves us. He wants to be our best friend. If he’s not your friend then, you don’t know what you’re missing. Get to know him, today.

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CARTOONS, DOLLS, AND MOSQUITOES

Have you ever misunderstood something someone said? Have you ever thought you knew something only to find out later that the mental concept you had of it was quite different from the way it actually was? It happens to all of us, especially when we are young.

As you may or may not know, my sister and I lived with our grandmother from the time I was three and she was two. I remember a time in those early years when our grandmother got really sick. I don’t know what was wrong with her, but she was sick enough that she couldn’t take care of us. She couldn’t take care of herself either, so we went to our aunt’s house so she could take care of her. Maybe she had something contagious because they sent us to stay with our mom and dad until she got well. I don’t remember how long we stayed there but it was quite an adventure. I’ll write more about it later, but for this post, I want to focus on just one thing from that time.

They only had one bedroom, so when it was bedtime they slid two recliners together facing each other in the living room, next to our younger sister’s crib, and that was where we slept while we were there. We slept with our grandmother at home so it was a bit scary being away from her, and in a room with no adults to protect us. We kept calling our mother and asking for water and other things. Finally, I remember our dad telling us that if we didn’t go to sleep a big mosquito would crawl through the keyhole and get us.

I pictured a giant mosquito standing upright like the ones in the old cartoons. It was as big as my dad and climbing through the keyhole one limb at a time. That scared me to death because at the time I didn’t know cartoons were not real. I was quite a bit older before I realized that some things on TV were only make-believe. I remember pulling the covers up around my neck, and the next thing I knew it was morning.

Another time my grandmother told us about her mom having twins. She said they were born too early, and they were very small. They only survived a few days before they died. Their names were Mark and Cora. My grandmother said they were so small they both fit on a pillow and they looked like little dolls lying there. Well, being a child and having the mind of a child, I pictured them actually looking like little toy dolls and that’s how I saw them for years.

As I was thinking about these and other times the visual concept that my mind created of something I was being told about, I thought about the Bible. There are so many things in God’s word that we can only imagine as we read. There are things that happened in places we have never seen, and almost as far back as six thousand years. Then there are the things God says will happen in the future. There’s the resurrection, heaven, and the new earth. These things are so far beyond our imagination that anything our simple minds can come up with can’t even be close to what it will actually be like. Look what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:9

1 Corinthians 2:9 
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Now take a look at what God says in Isaiah 55:8-9.

Isaiah 55:8-9 
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Compared to the intelligence of God, the creator of everything that has, or ever will exist, the smartest of us are only children in intellect. There’s no way we can completely understand all these things right now. Like the song says, we can only imagine.

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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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