The Deadly Peppermint

When I was a child our family lived in a small white block house provided by our church that my dad pastored. It was affectionately called, 'The Church Parsonage". I have a lot of great and very interesting childhood memories living and playing all around that little house and church property. However, there's one memory that sticks out in my mind from when I was about 8 years old. Let's just say that it started out as a quiet night . The pandemonium started when I was suddenly startled by my mom's sudden and loud cry from the kitchen. "HELP!" I immediately jumped up, dropping my Dukes Of Hazard Hot Wheels car onto the living room floor in eager anticipation to see what my mom was so upset about. "SOMEONE HELP!" she cried once more. As I rounded the corner I saw that my mom had David, my little brother, who was around 3 years old at the time, sitting up on the counter top. She had him by the shoulders shaking him vigorously! David's little face was as red as a tomato and his eyes were bulging. My mother seemed as though she had lost it. I thought my mom was killing my little brother! I didn't know whether to run for my life or witness the carnage! I was somewhat relieved yet horrified still when I heard her scream, "He's choking on a peppermint! Someone PLEASE help!" I remember wondering if she was pleading for ME to help because, as I recall, there was no one else in the house other than me, my younger sister, Rhonda, David, mom and a young teenage girl we knew from the church. I was just a kid and that little teenage girl sure wasn't doing anything to help. The only thing she did was hold her hand over her mouth in disbelief while soaking in the scene! Mom was in full panic mode! She was running in circles around that small kitchen and screaming all sorts of things I couldn't quite make out. She even ran out the back door once, leaving David choking to death on the counter, screaming out for the neighbor's help. My mom was clueless on what to do for a choking child. As she ran back in the house, we noticed that David's face had turned a bit blue. My mom suddenly realized that there was no help from anyone qualified in site. My mom felt all alone with all hope lost. All hope of anyone running in to the rescue was quickly fading along with the life of my brother. With all the strength my mom could muster up within herself she yelled, "JESUS!" As soon as she finished uttering His name, David made a huge 'gulp' sound as he swallowed and that once deadly peppermint slid right down his little throat allowing him to finally breath!

How often do we allow ourselves to go through unnecessary heartache and trials simply because we fail to call on Jesus until we're at the breaking point? We tend to call on everyone else for help or advice first. We'll go to our friends, parents, family, boss, or even a complete stranger for guidance and totally disregard the very one who is more than able to meet our needs or come through for us in our time of desperation. Hebrews 4:16 says, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (NLT) Now, by no means am I saying that we shouldn't seek advice or call for the help of others when we need it. However, God should be on the forefront of our minds and we must be willing to call on Him and use the Bible as a guideline to help us filter out ungodly advice! When we do call on God, He knows how to make a way for you and is more than able to meet your needs. He knows how to shut the mouths of lions, to keep the fire and smoke from harming you, to split the red sea, open prison doors, set the captives free, break the chains of bondage, and lead us to victory! God is awesome! So, when you have a deadly peppermint situation come up in your life, don't wait until you're blue in the face to call on Jesus!

Psalm 46:1-2, "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." (NKJV)