The Rusty Nail

 

 

Lacey and her older sister were close in age. They played together all the time with the neighborhood boys. A few houses down the block there was an area that had all kinds of boards laying on top of each other. I guess you would call it a junk yard. Their Mom had told them many times to stay away from the boards because they had rusty nails and she did not want the children to step on one of them by accident. Of course we all can surmise at this point what happens. I will keep telling you any way because again it is a story to share. As the day went on all the children decided it would be fun to walk around the boards and ignore the instruction from their Moms to stay away. It was kind of a thrill I guess for them to be doing something they should not be doing. They were big enough to be careful they thought. What was the big deal anyway. It was not like they were babies who could not see any nails that might be there. They were having a good old time until Lacey stepped right on a nail. It really hurt and she began to cry as the pain shot up her foot. The throbbing sensation really was painful and she pulled her foot back off of the nail and sat down and cried. Her sister being the older knew they would get in trouble if they went home and told their Mother. Her sister knew she loved the baby kittens that were around the area so she convinced her sister to keep quiet about the nail and she would find the kittens so she could play with them. That was the plan. Nobody was going to say a word to Mom. Lacey could not even walk right on the foot. There was a hole in the sneaker and the sock had blood on it too. Lacey was in pain but she played with the kittens for awhile before they had to go home for the night. She kept her mouth shut as they went home, ate their dinner and went to bed. Lacey took off her cloths and threw the sock in the laundry so her Mom would not see the blood. Mom had no idea what happened because Lacey covered her pain and just walked the best she could on the foot. She kept the throbbing and the pain to herself just so the two of them would not get in trouble. We all know how dangerous rusty nails can be so their decision to keep quiet was not such a good idea. Lacey went to bed feeling very guilty and sad because she was in pain and could not even get any comfort from her Mom. She had no idea of the danger, either. As Lacey laid in her bed thinking about what happened because they did not listen to their Mother she realized the importance of obeying her parents. Was Mom being mean not allowing them to have fun on the boards? At the time they both thought so. Now it was a different story as she lay in bed recognizing the Mother was only trying to protect them from harm because she knew that an accident could happen even if they were careful. In a child's mind they can not see the harm that can befall them. As adults we enter into danger all the time because we feel we are able to handle life. We too fall on our face because we like the risk of not following the rules. The story ends with the Mom coming back into Lacey’s room and telling her that her sister told her what happened. The Mom was not mad but told Lacey how dangerous a rusty nail can be and that tomorrow she would have to go and get a tetanus shot. Lacey was relieved that Mom knew and she learned a very important lesson that day. Mom was not as mean as she thought. Mom loved her very much and just knew better than she did about life. Lacey became a very obedient child and I wonder if that situation helped change her listening skills. Why did the older sister confess to the crime? Was it guilt or was it love for her sister who was suffering? Did the sister know that Lacey needed more help than she had given her? Is God mean or does He know what is best for us too? Lacey felt the pain of the nail that stuck in her foot and it hurt. I wonder how Jesus felt when he got nailed to the cross! Think About It! This is a true story!