A Boy Picked on My Sister, and He Got a Bloody Nose

If you’ve read my prior blogs, you know that when I bow up, I see myself as “The Rock” which is quite absurd if you’ve ever seen my frame. This overestimation of my girth and brute force didn’t happen upon adulthood. Instead of having “short-man syndrome,” I had “skinny-kid syndrome.” The effect is the same though. As a matter of fact, I think it’s a trait I was born with. See what you think…

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I was probably the skinniest kid you would ever meet. I couldn’t sleep on my stomach because my hip bones dragged the bed. If I were to raise my shirt, you could see my ribs, and my scapulas protruded. It wasn’t that I didn’t eat. I could out eat most boys my age. My metabolism was just through the roof. Oh to have that metabolism now! At any rate, about this time my sister and I would cross our neighbor’s backyard to get to the mud hole on the next property. It’s something we had done ever since we had moved into our house about three years prior, and there was never any great consequences or problems until…

Lori and I were at the mud hole and had climbed up the sweet gum tree. Someone had kindly nailed three boards for steps on the tree which allowed us access to the lowest branches. We would go and climb and play while our dogs, Sandy and Susie (two sweet pica-poos) would swim and “woller” (Southern for "roll around") in the mud hole below. We would have the best time climbing and playing. One summer day, the boys in our area showed up at the mud hole and told us to get down that this was their clubhouse.

Well, no one was going to tell me what to do, especially some stinky, hair-legged boy, so I said, “Make me!” They began to throw things up into the tree, so I just climbed higher. I had no fear, and apparently no common sense. Lori wasn’t willing to go as high. Eventually the boys left, and Lori and I climbed down and headed for home. As we were crossing the neighbor’s backyard, the boys showed up and began throwing the prickly gumballs that had fallen off the sweet gum tree. One of them hit Lori below her eye, and she began to cry.

Now, let me tell you. It’s okay if I picked on Lori or started a fight with her, but no one else was allowed to. And NO ONE but NO ONE was allowed to hurt her or make her cry. Normally, if she cried, I cried and vise versa. We believed if someone was crying they shouldn’t cry alone. I don’t know if that is a sister-thing, a Southern thing, or a Southern-sister thing, but that’s the way we rolled. I walked over to the boy who had thrown the gum ball and told him to apologize. He said no, so I “rared” (Southern for “reached back and prepared to exert all the force my tiny frame could exert") back and kicked him with all my might. He yelped and grabbed his shin. “I said to apologize!” This probably would have been more effective if I actually looked as big as I thought I was. He said, “No, I won’t, and I dare you to kick me again.” Now you know good and well I took that dare. I “rared” back and kicked his other shin, and then it was on. We were in an all-out brawl. Fist fighting. Duking it out. Lori was standing their crying when I yelled at her to go get mom because once I was finished with him there were two more boys waiting. By the time mom arrived, this boy and I were rolling on the ground. When she pulled us apart and sent him home, he had a bloody nose, and I had a fat lip.

When daddy got home that night, I just knew I was going to be in A LOT of trouble. I heard him on the phone with the boy’s parents, and then he came to me laying on the sofa with an ice pack on my lip. This is when he taught me how to defend myself, and how to start a fight if I felt like there was no other way out.

Like me, Abram wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to his family. Lot had been taken prisoner in a war, and all his belongings had been taken by those who had conquered Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram and his 318 trained servants went to reclaim Lot, his family and belongings from the conquering army consisting of four powerful kings. These four powerful kings had just kicked the tail of five kings. Do you see something there? Abram was going after the victors to reclaim what had been given him and his family which includes Lot. He wisely waits till nightfall and makes scheduled attacks. Abram and 318 men won against armies. I just love it when the underdog wins. Abram reclaimed Lot, his family, his possessions as well as those from Sodom.

I have to tell you, I love this story. It has suspense. It has family sticking up for family. And it has honor. The king of Sodom asked Abram to return the people of Sodom and that Abram could keep the spoils. Abram told the king he would not keep the spoils because he didn’t want the king saying he had made Abram rich. Abram wanted God to have that glory. Abram also didn’t want that connection to the king of Sodom and with good reason.

Abram didn’t go looking for a fight, but when it was time to stand up and do so, he was prepared. What are you willing to fight for? It’s easy to say that you would fight for your family, but what about those who can’t fight for themselves or stand up for themselves like the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly. Has God placed a burden on your heart for which you are to fight? Is it for the homeless? The orphans? The lost? The veterans? Whatever God has called you to do, get prepared and go where He leads for adventure lies ahead.