Major life-shifting events happen in the little moments

The young boy stood at the edge of the yard as rain bounced off his yellow slicker and pooled around his red galoshes.

His upper lip trembled. The street before him seemed like a massive whale about to swallow him. But as he glanced back at his three older sisters on the front porch laughing, he would rather walk into the mouth of a big fish than turn back.

His mother did seem a bit concerned.

But this was all her fault.

He tightened his grip on the Speed Buggy suitcase, packed with his worn-out blanket, pillow, and a can of Vienna sausages.

What else do you need when running away from home?

He took one more look back. Wendy pointed at him and giggled. She was always giggling.

The little man would especially love to punch her in the nose. At seven years old and just three years older than him, why was she more qualified to stir the eggs?

His mom was cooking scrambled eggs anyway, so how badly could he mess them up?

He begged and pleaded like the old women on the daytime television shows he and his father watched. You know, the ones where the man is leaving for a younger and prettier lady, and the wife cries and begs him to stay?

That’s how he felt. And he could spit nails for his mother making him feel that way.

He would show her. He was going to show all of them.

Suddenly, a truck zipped by, smacking a puddle and soaking him head to toe. The late October morning chill froze him to the bone.

I stormed back to the house and punched giggling Wendy in the arm as I passed.

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The Preceding Story Was Not a Work of Fiction

This mostly true story happened over 50 years ago, and I still remember it.

Why is that?

It’s not because it was the first time my mom told me no. I got spanked almost every day because I ignored her when she told me no.

It was the first time I felt rejected. The first time someone made me feel I wasn’t good enough.

We all have our kryptonite. That’s mine.

Who You Are in Christ

Then, I realized who I am in Christ. Neal Anderson’s book, Victory Over the Darkness, taught me that I am accepted, secure, and significant. I devoted a chapter to this idea in my own book, Stronger Down the Stretch.

The Bible isn’t short of Scriptures telling us who we are in Christ, but sometimes we need help unscrambling the Truth.

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