Just A Little note about My Past - Catching Toads

Catching Toads

One of my fondest memories as a child was when we visited my grandparents.  One of the things I loved about visiting was that they had so much land for us kids to explore.  We also enjoyed the pond that was filled with bullfrogs croaking all night long and the katydids that rang out in a constant comforting night hummm.  Just like ponds everywhere I'm sure, but it was special to us because  it was the only place we'd ever experienced  having a pond or hearing the sounds of the night as we drifted off to sleep at night.  We always woke up in the early morning to the pleasant sound of Grandma and Grandpa talking to each other along with kitchen sounds  and the smell of breakfast cooking. 

I loved going out at night to capture the toads, they were everywhere on that property.  I remember one night I captured around eight toads and I put them in a cardboard box and wanted to keep  them as my pets.  Grandpa told me I should let them go but I was determined to keep them because I was proud of my accomplishment of catching them. 

I went to the basement to  check on my toads ,before I went to bed that night.  Then morning came and as soon as I could, I ran to the basement to see them.  Low and behold I looked in the box and there was eight rocks in the box.  My toads were gone and I asked grandpa, "What happen to my frogs?"  He said, "When you keep them over night they turn to rocks." 

It took me the longest time to figure out that he had pulled the wool  over my eyes... , by the time I realized it, I knew he couldn't let me keep the toads anyway .  He gave me something else instead,  a memory of him  and it has been a treasured memory of him to this day.

Psalms 150:6
 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.



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Just A Little Note About My Past - updated

Just A Little Note About My Past 

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 Before our family moved to W.Va. we lived in another state.  Our home was down a dirt road off the highway.
There was a wooded area by our home..  There were several things that happened that I can remember that have affected me to this day. 
Some of the things that happened to the kids on our street was during the segregation period.  There was allot of violence at that time.  I was only about 5 years old.  But I remember that the black kids had beaten up my brother, sister and others kids that lived off our street, had been stealing their lunch money.  I can't remember if I was there with them or I was told the story. I just know it scared me because my family and friends were hurt.   I feel like I was there because I was affected by it.  We lived pretty much in a dangerous area because I remember some violence, from outside our home.
One particular time that has stood out in my mind was when my younger sister and I were playing outside.  A couple of boys, one black boy, and one white boy, they were 18 and 19 years old.  They talked my sister and I  into taking a walk into the woods.   Somehow I ended up alone with one and I can remember the boy offering me candy to take off my clothes. 
I told that boy no, ran as fast as I could go and yelled at the top of my lungs every inch of the way.  I finally made it home and told my mom what had happened and my younger sister was safe because she was already there when I got there.
My mother called the police and an officer came and a report was filed.  I was always taught to trust police officers.  That day the police officer being there comforted us and made us feel safe.

Police Officers
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 I've taught my kids since they were little not to call a police officer a pig, or a cop, because they were to show respect for law enforcement.  So we taught our children to call a police officer a police officer.  But then the police department started doing " Shop With A Cop" to help provide the needs of children in there local area.  Which I didn't know anything about until a couple years or so ago.  Anyway, now it's okay if we call them Cops.  I taught my children that police officers could be trusted and were here to keep us safe. So we need to be thankful for good police officers that are out there keeping people safe and keeping them in our prayers on a continual basis.

Parking On The Wrong Side?

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illustrative story

On my way to a Garage Sale I noticed a police officer behind me. I slowed down even though I wasn't speeding.  I was about to stop at a garage sale.  I had my eyes on him and wondered whether I had done something wrong.  I came to a complete stop and waited for him to pass me by.  I figured if He wanted to ask me something He would.  He asked me smiling,  " Your Not Going To Park There Are You?" for some reason I felt completely at peace when he passed by.  I wasn't for sure if I did something wrong on not.  As soon as He asked me the question I immediately looked up and saw the sign- "No Parking On This Side".  I said, I was not sure if you were going to pull me over or not."  He told me to go down the street and turn around and park.
I questioned myself later and asked myself, "Did I give an honest answer?"  To tell you the truth I really had not decided what I was going to do yet because my mind was on him the whole time.

 I told my husband, who is a pastor and my daughter later, that I had almost got pulled over by a black officer.  My daughter responded, "You Did"?  I said, The officer was the blackest Asian man I ever saw.  He was a really nice looking Asian man with a very dark tan. 

(This Is Not Meant To Be Mean, I Just Was Trying To Be Funny.
Because No One Could Ever Claim Our Family Is Prejudice And It Be True. 
 Though We Are Republican.  We were both Independent voters
but we just can't even feel comfortable voting the other way because it's against our beliefs.)

 When I went to turn around I was flustered and didn't realize until afterwards that I was distracted by the whole thing. I almost backed out into a mail truck but by God's grace I saw him in time. I did park on the other side and went to the Garage Sale but left because I felt upset with myself.   I decided it would be better to just go home. 

However:

I was so thankful to God that the officer had actually kept me from doing the wrong thing before I did. 

He kept me from parking on the wrong side.  

 Proverbs 15:3 

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.